back in the day they were dresser scarves so the top of the dresser didn't get scratched up from family photos etc.

Scarf is singular, scarves is plural.
Singular: My mother gave me a dresser scarf made by my grandmother.
Plural: My grandmother made many dresser scarves for my mother.

Sounds like a great idea for a wall hanging. I have a cedar chest full of linens made by my mother, aunts and even me when I was very young. I have been thinking of making them into a wall hanging so I am anxious to see the comments of others.

I am from Texas, and we always called them dresser scarves.

Please please investigate the gorgeous work that Cindy Needham does with old linens! Here is just 1 of her videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD-4au8tZ_A
I watched her on The Quilt Show recently & have become fascinated with her quilts.

Any piece of lacey or embroidered linen or cotton placed on the top of a shelf or mantle or coffee table, dresser. Always still called a dresser scarf. We had a lot of them and they were carefully washed and pressed. Any embroidery or lace attached, I used an old white handkerchief of my dad's as a pressing cloth. Mom liked how I did the lacey edged ones because I would use straight pins to hold the edges down from curling up. I have about 8-9 but don't use them. Thinking of using them in crazy quilt (Victorian style).

Would you consider a Crazy Quilt theme ? Using some of the colors in the scarf, then frame it , it would be nice depending on design if you could make a sq. rectangle, or center with your moms' picture . I have used plenty of old embroidery scarfs, napkins that I have bought in Crazy quilting as the main focus of the wall quilt.

That's what we always called them too. I have a few. Wall hanging is a good idea.

If it were me, I'd carefully rinse all the starch out of it; roll it in a towel; dry it on a dry towel; steam iron it from behind on a dry towel. Starch can attract bugs! I never use it.

Then I'd take a section of that scarf, cut it carefully with enough background and have it framed, under glass. If it's so dear to you, it's worth the extra money to have it done correctly.
Good luck with your project.
How lucky you are to have a remembrance of the past.


BTW: I'm from the east coast - NY - and we called them dresser scarves, too.

You might want to check out Cindy Needham. She uses vintage linens to create whole cloth quilts.