Most of us don’t use handkerchiefs anymore, but they're kept by many people as treasures that were handed down, or they were too pretty to pass up at a yard sale or thrift store. Here, we teach you how to turn a fetching handkerchief into a practical hanging organizer. The only skill required is straight stitching.
We used a burlap type fabric for the backing and a natural-looking yarn. You could double this pretty with a patterned backing and ribbon instead of yarn. The organizer is useful by the front door to hold sunglasses, keys, tire gauges and other items, or in the art room to hold paintbrushes and scissors. Or, you could hang it in the bathroom to hold eye liner and makeup compacts. And kids always need organizing, so it would make a nice gift for a new mom.
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Materials
- Flat work surface
- Ruler
- Disappearing ink or other fabric marker
- Fabric for backing, medium- to heavy-weight weave
- Craft scissors
- Sewing machine with matching thread
- Dowel, about 3/4 inches in diameter and 22 inches long. You may paint the ends of the dowel.
- Handkerchief (we used 12-by-12 inches)
- Yarn to match
- Flat work surface
- Ruler
- Disappearing ink or other fabric marker
- Fabric for backing, medium- to heavy-weight weave
- Craft scissors
- Sewing machine with matching thread
- Dowel, about 3/4 inches in diameter and 22 inches long. You may paint the ends of the dowel.
- Handkerchief (we used 12-by-12 inches)
- Yarn to match
DIY Everywhere
Instructions
1. Lay the backing fabric onto your work surface.
1. Lay the backing fabric onto your work surface.
2. Measure an 18-by-20-inch rectangle with the ruler, and mark clearly. Note: this might be larger or smaller based on the size of the handkerchief. Be sure that the rectangle will be 4 inches larger by width, and double the height of the handkerchief.
3. Cut along the marked lines to create a clear rectangle.
4. Using the overlock or blanket setting on your sewing machine, sew along all the edges.
Pro tip: If your sewing machine doesn’t have edging capabilities, sew with a tight zigzag stitch very close to the edge.
5. Turn one shorter edge of the rectangle down about 1 ½ inches. Be sure the dowel will fit in this area. Pin in place.
6. Sew this edge down with the sewing machine, making a slot for the dowel. This is now the top.
7. Lay the handkerchief down. Fold it in half.
8. Cut along the fold to create two equal-sized pieces.
9. Center one half of the handkerchief on the bottom of the rectangle with 2 inches hanging off the edge. Pin into place along the top line.
10. Fold that half up from the pinned edge.
11. Take the second half of the handkerchief, and center it in the center of the rectangle, with a slight overlap onto the first. Pin it into place along the top line.
12. Smooth both handkerchiefs down, and sew along the top lines.
13. Fold the handkerchiefs up, and sew into place along the sides.
14. On the lower handkerchief, sew vertically in from the edge 1 ½ inches.
15. From that line, sew another 1 ½ inches from the first. Add a third vertical line 1 ½ inches from the second line.
16. Split the remaining difference, sewing another line at approximately
3 ½ inches from the last line. This gives you two larger pockets and three small pockets for pencils or paint brushes.
3 ½ inches from the last line. This gives you two larger pockets and three small pockets for pencils or paint brushes.
17. On the upper handkerchief, sew a vertical line down the center, rendering two larger pockets.
18. Insert the dowel into the slot.
19. Cut a piece of the yarn about 24 inches.
20. Tie the ends of the yarn securely around the ends of the dowel.
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21. Hang the organizer on a nail, and fill with your most useful items.