My dad just stopped by a brought me a box of his mother's (my grandmother) handkerchiefs. Some of them have hand tated lace onthem that he says his great grandmother made. Any ideas for what I should make from them? I am not sure I want to cut them but I quess it depends on the pattern. He also brought me "miles" of hand tatted lace that his great grandmother also did. Dad is 80 so I know these things are old. The lace is beautiful.

Oh boy, you have treasures!!.

My first thought would be to cut plain blocks big enough to sew the handkerchiefs to, than use sashing to make them all the same size. Make sure when you sew the hankies to the background to not interfere with the decor of the hanky. Tough to do. I'm going to get ahold of my SIL and get a pictures of a custom quilt she did for someone that was similar.

I have been saving mine for awhile now. I plan to incoporate them in a crazy patch sort of quilt, without cutting the hankies. Also, you could sew the lace on the finished seams, just be sure to stitch the lace down really well. Just an idea....

Don't cut the hankies.

I have hankies and the ends of pillowcases that my grandmother embroidered and crocheted lace for framed in a shadow box. Very pretty.

Ohhhhh the show box would be a nice way to display them.
I think Micheals has them. Have fun. What a treasure. :thumbup:

Look for Hankerchief butterfly quilt in Google. They are easy to do and you don't have to cut the Hanky at all.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I like the idea of a shadowbox. Some of the fabrics are very sheer and would not wear well on a quilt. Some of the hankies are very old. I hand washed the lace and it cam out beautifully. Then I pressed it and wrapped it in acid free tissue paper. Seems funny to do that because it has been stored in a box in the attic for years. Treasures are where we find them.

I have not made one yet, but plan to. It's on my to do list.

There is a very pretty quilt pattern in the most recent issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting that uses handkerchiefs.