Remember when hankies were made of fabric — for every day use, not just “for show” or for special occasions like weddings? When I discovered the handkerchief craft tutorials at Bumblebee Linens, it was an instant trip down Memory Lane…

As a small child, I learned to iron (a skill I seldom practice these days!) on Dad’s big cotton handkerchiefs. More interesting, however, were the hankie dolls and animals that my mother showed me how to make when I was confined to bed with chicken pox (or possibly mumps, one of those childhood illnesses, anyway) for what seemed like weeks…

The handkerchief-craft tutorials at Bumblebee Linens include a mouse, an angel and the cutest little Easter bunny you could ever imagine making from a rolled-up and folded piece of embroidered linen.

I distinctly remember making a handkerchief mouse from one of my father’s big plaid hankies, and feeling slightly outraged that he didn’t have any that were more appropriately mouse-coloured. There was a doll, too — just big enough to fit in the palm of my young hand — but I’ve long since forgotten how to make it, and haven’t yet found the instructions anywhere…

At the moment, though, hankering for spring, I’m all about this handkerchief bunny –

All you need is a hanky (or a hanky-sized piece of lightweight fabric), a length of ribbon, a handful of cotton balls, and a needle and thread — but don’t worry about the needle and thread, if sewing’s not your thing or you want to create an Easter Bunny as a project with your kids, because that’s just to fasten on the little cotton-ball tail. (The instructions say to pin the tail on the rabbit, actually, but you might as well take a couple of quick in-and-out stitches with thread and not worry about having a stray pin falling out on the carpet — not that this is something that would ever have happened to us!)

Full instructions for making a handkerchief bunny — with step-by-step photographs — are at Bumblebeelinens.com Hankie Bunny tutorial.

Enjoy!

Has your under-bed storage space been taken over by all those fabric scraps and remnants you’ve been saving up for ages? Wondering what you can possibly do with them all? Fabric origami might be the answer.

Fabric origami is quicker than quilting, more forgiving than paper, and durable. Just iron out mistakes and refold. Some origami require only 6 inches of fabric. This is a quilter’s dream for those leftover pieces of fabric!

Fabric Origami

A variation on the traditional Japanese craft of paper folding, fabric origami simply uses stiffened fabric instead of paper. Cotton broadcloth is the “fabric of choice” for origami projects, as it will always produce a crisp crease when stiffened with a bit of starch or fabric stiffener spray.

Fold your fabric into any number of exciting shapes, just the same as you would if you were doing ordinary paper origami — and you end up with a beautiful and durable one-of-a-kind piece that can be embellished with beads, embroidery, paints…
Patterns and Kits are available at the Fabric Origami Workshop, along with ideas and inspiration, basic instructions, and more information about the process and the technique.