Vintage Fabric Valentine Aprons

Looking for a Valentine's Day gift that'll last longer than a box of chocolates?

And longer than a dozen roses?

I made these aprons from vintage fabrics that have stood the test of time!  Most of the fabrics are from the 1950's and they're still in excellent shape and very vivid with color.

I've also stitched up several made with new, retro fabrics:

They're all available in my Etsy shop if you want to take a closer look.

Vintage Hankie Headband Update

Remember a while back when I made a few headbands from my vintage hankies (click here for original post)?

Shari, one of my customers kindly shared some pictures with me.  I love happy customer pictures!

Especially when humor's involved!

Shari's "before:"



And the "after:"





Isn't she lovely?!

Hope you all have a lovely day!

Vintage Hankie Headbands

Remember when I posted a tutorial a couple of weeks ago about making a 5-minute vintage hankie hair tie?

One of my blog followers, Shari, left a comment asking if I could make a headband.  Hadn't thought about headbands before her comment, so I reached into my ever-growing vintage hankie collection...

And made this

Hoping Shari will share a picture, but in the meantime, Mabel modeled it for me.

I really like the results.  Despite my enormous supply of beautiful, new fabrics, nothing compares to the beauty of these vintage hankies!

I'm stitching up a bunch more ~ think they compliment my Retro Revival products perfectly.  I should have them available on my website and Etsy shop soon.

Do you have a stash of vintage hankies?  Share a comment about what you're doing with them and you'll be entered to win this darling, vintage apron:

Winner will be drawn May 31st ~ good luck!

Make a Vintage Hankie Hair Tie in 5 Minutes

Occasionally I suffer from a raging case of Bad Hair Day.  Actually, it happens a lot.  My crazy-curly hair has a mind of its own.  Really, it does!  And it often conspires with the Florida humidity to cause me to reach for the scissors...



...And real quick, stitch up a hair tie that will distract from my Bad Hair Day.



Reaching into my stash of vintage hankies, I chose a couple with yellow rose buds:



Then laid them out and sewed two ends together:

Next, I rolled them up, length-wise and ironed them flat:

And stitched the entire length:

Wha-la!  I tied it around my ginormous bun.  A five minute alternative to a baseball cap...

Another way to upcycle my ever-growing vintage hankie stash.

Got any Bad Hair Day distraction tips?  Do tell and you're entered to win this month's blog giveaway contest:

Random drawing for this vintage apron is May 31st ~ good luck!

July Blog Giveaway

I have a thing for vintage hankies.  They're like pretty, colorful personal fabric swatches and I've amassed quite a collection over many years now.  Snatching them up at flea markets, antique shops, second-hand stores and even yard sales, I typically pay anywhere from $.50 to $3.00.  My favorite hankies are the printed ones which, as far as I know, were originally sold in the 1940’s and 50’s.  Here’s a peek at part of my stash:

Well up into the mid-1940’s the hankie was a standard accessory for many women.  A perfumed-spritzed hankie was often tucked into a purse for frangrance or slipped up a dress sleeve (color coordinated, of course) for quick and easy access.  Sadly, Kleenex hit on a remarkable ad campaign for their paper tissues; a cartoon character named Lulu touted the sanitary benefits of disposable hankies and their sales soared.  The hankie was doomed – at least for noses.
Over time, I’ve raided my stash for a variety of projects including this quilt I made for a friend:

(a vintage tablecloth is on the backside)
In our guest cottage I framed a few to fill an empty wall:

For my craft fair tent I stitched 50 hankies into a banner:

And I've used vintage hankies as pockets on some of my Retro Revival aprons:

Although my hankie inventory is dwindling (need to pick up more!), I’d like to make some pretty sachets like these:

And look at this great idea:

It’s a clever “save the date” wedding announcement from Benign Objects (http://www.benignobjects.com/).
I've had this one, very special hankie for at least 10 years.  Someone took the vintage hankie and folded it around a lovely paper doll; it's designed so that you can send it as a greeting card (or remove the hankie and do something else with it).

Since I can't bear to tear it from its packaging I've decided to offer it as this month's blog giveaway!  I'd love to gift it to one of you and then hear what you do with it!
Contest rules:
Become a follower of this blog (if you aren't already)
Leave a comment on this blog or any of my July blog entries
That's it -- you'll automatically be entered to win -- yay!
Drawing is July 31
Good luck!