Fancy Crochet Edged Hankie - A Tutorial

Do you know how you can pass yourself off as a refined lady?  Carry a hankie with a lacy edging.  Where do you get such a thing in this day and age?  Well, your old friend Sarah is here to help with this tutorial!  All you need is a square of fabric, some crochet cotton and a little know-how.

Crochet edged hankies for the refined crafter.

I recently made my Auntie Carol some white pillowcases with a frilly edge for her birthday.  I had a bit of the 100% cotton fabric left over from that project and I decided it would be perfect for handkerchiefs.  In other words, this is a great scrap buster project.

These will make an inexpensive, yet fancy-pants gift for someone in my life.

The supplies you'll need.

Materials Needed:

·         Large scrap of fabric that can be cut down to 10 x 10 inches

·         Crochet Cotton

·         US 1 Crochet Hook

·         Sharp Chenille Needle with Large Eye

You start by cutting a 10 x 10 inch square of fabric and finishing the edge. Make sure you are cutting on the grain of your fabric or your hankie will stretch all over the place.  Now, depending on how you finish the edge, you may want to cut your square slightly larger.  I serged my edges which means I didn’t lose any of the size of my original piece.  If you don’t have a serger, you may want to finish your edges with a narrow hem in which case, you may want to start with a 10.5 x 10.5 inch square.  Once your edge is finished, you have your plain hankie. 

Serged edge; you could also do a narrow hem.

The next step is to blanket stitch around the edge of your plain hankie.  You will need a sharp chenille needle with a large enough eye for the crochet cotton you are using.  You want to use a doubled length of yarn to make your stitches (the doubled yarn gives it some strength).  I like to cut my yarn long enough that I can blanket stitch all the way around without have to knot off and add more yarn on.  That can be a bit of a pain as it tangles, but it’s my preference. 

Blanket stitch around the edge to create a base for the crochet stitches.

A couple other things about the blanket stitching.  I like to cover the entire hem with the stitch rather than put the stitch through the hem.  This is a personal preference thing.  I think it looks tidier this way.  The second thing is that I use the hem stitches to gauge how far apart I need to put my blanket stitches.  That's why they are so even!  I would count every third stitch and insert my needle.  

Next I crochet the edge.  I made two simple rounds for this edging:

Round 1:  *3 sc in each blanket stitch space,* join to beginning sc with sl st

Round 2:  Ch 4, sc, *sc, ch 3, sc,* join to beginning ch with sl st. End off.

You can see how the first round of crochet stitches is worked onto the base of blanket stitches.

You’ll want to work in the ends of your yarn to hide them and you’re done with the edging.

It's pretty, but it needs something more.

Now, one more added detail.  The cherry on top, as it were.  I decided to add an embroidered motif to my handkerchief because I’m extra refined. Since I had the red and pink edges going, I thought a cherry would be the perfect embroidered accent. I used a running stitching with two strands of floss.  I was extra careful to make sure my work looked good on the back since it would show.

I transferred the motif with a fabric pencil and light box to get a nice, clean, fine line.

Using two strands of floss keeps the embroidery in scale with the rest of the project.

You are now completely prepared to faint onto the nearest sofa, whip out your hankie, daintily dab your brow, and weakly mutter, "Oh dear, I must be having one of my spells!"