Sunday, June 24, 2012

Handkerchief Baby Bonnet

This is a gift that I enjoy making for baby showers.  Whenever I'm invited to a wedding, I take an antique handkerchief for the bride to carry.  After the ceremony, she gives it back to me and I seal it up in an envelope with her name and the date of the wedding on the front.

When she has a baby, I take the handkerchief and, with a few basting stitches, add some lace and a couple of ribbons for ties and give it to her at her baby shower.  This is the poem that goes with the bonnet.

THE MAGIC HANKY             

I’m just a little handkerchief,
Quite square as you can see,
But with a stitch or two, Linda made
A bonnet out of me.

I’ll be worn home from the hospital, or
On the christening day;
Then neatly pressed and folded
I’ll be carefully packed away.

On her wedding day a bride must have
Traditionally, something old
Good luck, good health, and happiness
It brings her, so it’s told.

Then what could be more pleasant
Than to unpack little me,
To snip a stitch or two and find
Her handkerchief I’ll be.

And if I’m first worn by a boy,
He’ll surely someday wed;
Then he can give his lovely bride
The hanky once worn on his head.  







These are fairly simple to make.  I just fold the hanky in half and then I baste the lace trim on the folded edge.  Measure off two pieces of ribbon long enough for the ties and tack them onto the corners of the folded edge.  Then, using a large basting stitch, gather the opposite side of the hanky and pull tight to gather.
The hankies I like best for this are ones that have some type of embroidery on them.  It adds a lot to the appearance of the bonnet. 

This is the card I made to go with the bonnet.


7 comments:

KAT said...

i still have the hankies worn on my twins heads when they were baptized on valentines day. they were 6mos old...i'm glad i seen this post. we find out tomorrow if (one of the twins) baby will be a boy or a girl. i forgot all about these. won't this be a special surprise when i dig them out and give to them for their baby? i missed giving it to his bride for their wedding. i just 'forgot' about it.

char52 said...

WOW.. I love this.. wish someone had done it for me when I had gotten married and had my kiddies. Sniff.. I love sentimental.

Shelley said...

Linda this is sooo beautiful!

Shelley

MaryH said...

So lovely. Thanks for sharing the poem, and the little handkerchief cap is beautiful.

Brenda said...

Wow! This is stunning Linda! I love this idea and wish this had been done for me. lol Where to you get your hankies from? Love the card too my friend, you are just to talented!!

Linda said...

Brenda, you can find embroidered hankies in some stores, especially around Christmss.

I find mine at flea markets, garage sales and antique stores. They're not expensive at all. A friend of mine deals in antiques and she picks them up for me too. Right now I think I have enough to last me the rest of my life! LOL!

Sometimes you're fortunate enough to find a lace edged one that's in good enough shape to use. Then all you have to do is add the ties and gather the back and you're done!

Anonymous said...

This is such a special gift. I received one as a gift from my best friend when my son was born. My son just turned 30 and she made one for his new baby. I'll treasure it always as I'm sure all the people you've made them for will.