I Have a Treasured Hanky – Part Two

This Hanky Dress was made from an antique silk and lace handkerchief. I remember my joy when I first saw it. The lace is very fine and delicate. The silk is a lovely pale green and the lace is cream. There are places where it has been repaired and I could see that the thread used for the repair was larger than the thread that was used to originally stitch the handkerchief together. In the past, thread was made really fine so I knew this was quite old. I had guessed at least 1920's. And now we know that it was likely older.

The handkerchief was given to Susie by her cousin Cindy who told Susie that the hanky had belonged to her great grandmother. Cindy remembered hearing that it was from England or Ireland; maybe, something that was brought over when they immigrated. She said it had always been treasured by her family.

I do not usually work with silk hankies because they are too soft; however this one had such a beautiful wide lace border that I thought I just might be able to make it work. Furthermore, I have never made a dress with this configuration of folds and I really don’t know that I could ever do it again. It all just sort of fell into place.

Susie had a grand plan for this dress….she wanted to surprise Cindy and give it to her for Christmas. Susie has since let me know that Cindy was surprised and pleased with her gift, but, Cindy told her that she should really be the one to have it because of her love of things old. The two haven't seen each other since they were young and hope to get together this spring or summer.

Here are a couple of close-up pictures of the handkerchief.