Vintage Handkerchief and Fabric Junk Journal
My inspiration
My love of vintage handkerchiefs has led me to quite a collection. What to do? Create a vintage handkerchief and fabric junk journal of course!
I cannot pass up a thrift store, flea market or consignment shop. Every one I visit, I make a point to scour the bins, racks and shelves for these treasures. Consistently, I am amazed at the intricacy of the stitching. The love that went into making these always makes me smile. It is so much fun to think about a bygone era where women had these at the ready. Either in their pocketbook or maybe up a sleeve!
Looking at the rather large assortment I have gathered, I thought, what am I saving these for? They are not doing anything in my stash and their beauty needed to be featured!
Here is a picture of my latest haul from a thrift store. Many of these were used in this journal.
Page and cover construction
Starting with a group of handkerchiefs that were similar in color and pattern, I formed the foundation for the journal. I knew I wanted a soft sided journal. After “shopping my closet”, I found a gray sweatshirt that I could cut up and used it for the base. To form my base layers and cover, I cut the sweatshirt into 5 strips, each measuring 8″ x 14″ for the pages and cut one strip 8″ x 16″ for the cover.
This vintage handkerchief and fabric journal definitely had the floral theme going on. The theme was dictated by the cover in which I used a large napkin.
I positioned each of the handkerchiefs to a strip of sweatshirt. Next, once happy with their position, I tacked them down with a bit of glue to hold them in place. Where ever the sweatshirt was showing, I added fabric that coordinated to cover the blank spaces. To finish the pages, it was off to my sewing machine to sew a zig zag stitch around the borders.
Interior pages and embellishments
Here are a few pictures of the interior pages. Each folded page makes up a signature. There are a total of 5 in this journal.
inside of front cover with crocheted pot holder and additional hankie 
beautiful floral hankie with lace trim and embellishments 
large handkerchief folded in half 
interior of folded napkin creating two pockets for ephemera
Each signature is equivalent to an individual little book in itself. Every page has either pockets or tuck spots that hold journaling booklets, ephemera and tags.
springtime napkin with fabric snippet 
handkerchief pocket holding additional hankie and fabric cluster 
large floral handkerchief folded in half 
interior of floral handkerchief with journaling card and vintage brooch 
oppostie page of floral handkerchief with lace belly band holding journaling card
The photos below show many additional journaling booklets tucked into pockets created by the shape of the handkerchiefs. Each booklet has additional scrap lace and fabric pieces from the coordinating handkerchiefs. There are even tags made from handkerchiefs!
lace trimmed pocket holding booklet 
journaling booklet with lace overlay and pearl trim 
journaling booklet with handkerchief cover and wrapped in lace 
two pockets with a journaling booklet and coordinating tags handkerchief tucked into pocket created with handkerchief scraps along with corner fabric cluster, trimmed with lace from handkerchief 
interior pocket created by folded handkerchief with journaling tags made from fabric scraps 
journaling booklet with collaged cover
Finishing touches
I focused on embellishing the front after each signature was sewn into the cover. Since the all over floral pattern was bold, a fabric cluster with left over material was just the right amount of decoration. I chose just a few flower embellishments along with pearls and blue glittered leaves to finish off the cluster. Securely holding the journal is a blue stretch lace tie that is attached under the cluster. Bright pink trim brings out the color of the flowers. A crocheted doily runs along the spine and is trimmed in the same blue as the tie closure.
I have completed a create with me series of tutorials on YouTube with step by step instructions on how I made this vintage handkerchief and fabric journal. A flip through is also on my channel. Hopefully it inspires you to create one of your own!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7FegAboIHQ0PKF12tWfBsw
Glitter on my friends,
Pamela
I am a self proclaimed junk journal fanatic and creative crafter. If it is vintage, I am in! I recently retired from the corporate world and now have more time to devote to my love of creating one of a kind treasures. Besides junk journals my hobbies include thrifting, flea market outings, fashion, cooking, hanging with my girlfriends and daughter and golf with my husband. I currently live in the mountains of beautiful Colorado.
