This jewelry pouch made from old handkerchiefs is elegant and functional

Handkerchiefs are lovely, vintage items that seem to have no practical use in these days of disposable tissues. But fortunately, there are ways you can utilize your beautiful hankies, and some of them provide simple and elegant solutions to everyday problems. One of these is a jewelry pouch made from a handkerchief.

Creating this special pouch for holding jewelry you don't know what to do with takes a little know-how, but it won't be hard if you follow the step-by-step instructions below. Also, it will give you an opportunity to show off several ornate handkerchiefs in a way that's not only stylish but functional. Keep your jewelry pouch on your bedside, at your vanity or even in your purse, and make sure your favorite items are always with you — and kept safe with sophisticated allure.

Materials
- 4 handkerchiefs
- Paper
- Pencil
- Small piece of stiff fabric, like canvas as seen in our tutorial
- Sewing machine
- Scissors
- Fabric marking pencil
- Ribbon
- Safety pin
- Sewing pins
- Iron
- Ironing board
- Seam ripper

Instructions
1. Make a template out of the paper, which you will use to draw a circle that will fit nicely inside the handkerchief. The handkerchief we used in the video is 11 1/2 -by-11 1/2 inches, and the circle template is 8 inches in diameter. Turn the handkerchief over, and use the template to draw a circle on the cloth with the fabric marking pencil.

2. Fold the handkerchief in half, and mark where you think the channel will be at the edge of the circle. Use the sewing machine to sew a buttonhole here. Cut the excess thread with the scissors. This will be your pouch's outer handkerchief.

3. Use the fabric pencil to trace a smaller circle, made in the same way as your first circle template, about 3 inches in diameter, onto padded or stiff fabric like canvas. Cut out the circle. Pin it to the bottom side of the handkerchief, and sew it to the handkerchief. This will give the bottom more stability.

4. Take the second handkerchief, and place it on top of the first with the circle sewn to it. The two handkerchiefs' undersides should face one another. Pin the two handkerchiefs together, and, removing the pins as you go, sew a row of stitching all the way around the handkerchiefs, using the circle as your guide. Then sew a second row about 1/2 an inch away from the first, so you can later fit the ribbon inside.

5. Take the other two handkerchiefs, and place them on top of one another with their front sides both facing inward. Using the same large circle template, trace a circle onto the backside of the new handkerchiefs. Pin them together, leaving a space of about 1/2-inch wide. Removing pins as you go, sew the handkerchiefs' right sides together, leaving that 1/2-inch space open to turn it inside out.

6. Cut the excess fabric away, leaving a circle shape around where you sewed, with about 1/2 inch of fabric beyond the thread point. Fold the circle in half, and cut off the corner with scissors. When you open the circle again, it should have a little inward point. Do this all the way around, so the circle resembles a sun with small points going all the way around it. Now turn it inside out, so the right sides of the handkerchief are facing out. Iron it, making sure the points inside lie flat. Sew a circle around the outer edge of the circle again now that it's right-side out.

7. Center the circle handkerchiefs on top of the outer handkerchiefs, and pin the circle to the outer handkerchiefs. Turn the larger handkerchief with the smaller one pinned to it over, so you can see the backside. Fold it in half, and mark two lines on the fold line pointing inward. Fold it the other way, and do the same so you have four lines. Sew around the inner circle, and then sew over the four lines to create pockets.

8. Turn your handkerchief over. Use a seam ripper to open the buttonhole you sewed earlier. Pin a safety pin to the end of a piece of ribbon, and feed it through the channel you sewed into the outer handkerchiefs. Once that's done, remove the safety pin, and cut the end of the ribbon again. Tie the ribbon pieces together at the ends. Scrunch the ribbon, fluff the handkerchief into a pouch-like shape and open the pockets inside to reveal your jewelry pouch.