Upcycled Ladies Handkerchief Drawstring Bag, Stenciled to Personalize

This is a small project that was made in less than an hour. The sewing would have gone quicker if my sewing machine doesn’t like to unthread itself regularly.
I washed and ironed the two handkerchiefs and pressed a crease in the center so I would stencil the letters on straight. I kept something behind the single handkerchief while stenciling so any bleed-through would not stain anything else. I sewed the running ‘pockets’ at the top of each handkerchief to later thread the ribbon through then put the good sides of the two handkerchiefs facing each other and sewed the two sides (skipping the pockets for the ribbon) and bottom. Slipped the ribbon through, tying a square knot at each side, and ta-da!  It measures about 8″x8″.

This can be done with any leftover fabric scraps, even old clothes if they are in reasonable condition. The floral motif is dainty and offers a nice vintage feel without being stodgy or dated. If I wanted to go one step further, I’d have lined it in iron-on vinyl so it could be used as a toiletry or toothbrush bag for when the recipient has sleepovers at grandmas.

It was then sent in a care package to a very special little girl named Amelia who is about to become a big sister. This is an ideal present for a toddler girl since it is made from inexpensive materials, it has flowers on it, and it is personalized with the child’s name.

Upcycled Ladies Handkerchief Drawstring Bag

4 comments

  1. Adan Ruckman says:

    Hi would you mind stating which blog platform you’re using? I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m having a hard time deciding between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your layout seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique. P.S Apologies for being off-topic but I had to ask!

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