handkerchief

A piece of cloth, usually silk or linen, carried about the person for the purpose of wiping the face or hands. — Webster, 1882

Gentlemen will wear one pocket-handkerchief in the side pocket, with the corner gently emerging, and another in the hip pocket, as they did last season, the former for decorative purposes and the latter for business. This is a wise provision, and never fails to elicit favorable comment. -De Smet Leader, June 19, 1886.

Handkerchiefs are prepared with extremely narrow hemstitched borders, which vary from a mere edge a quarter of an inch wide to a border of medium size an inch wide; the handkerchief may be pure white or the border may be tinted red, blue, gold color, or any odd bright shade. -De Smet Leader, May 24, 1884.

D.H. Loftus has just received a large line of dry goods. He has the finest assortment of silk handkerchiefs we ever saw. It will pay you to look over his stock. -Kingsbury County Independent, December 15, 1892.

     
A handkerchief could be a perfectly practical plainly-hemmed square of cotton used to wipe dirty hands and receive runny-nosed sneezes. It could also be a beautifully embroidered work of art, a fine blue silk or snowy linen square hemmed with invisible stitches and bordered by delicate hand-made lace. It could be an item stuffed hastily in the pocket so as not to be seen or one held proudly on display during a wedding ceremony. It was as utilitarian, yet it could be fashionable. It could be big or small. A handkerchief is – as one well-known movie character stated (bonus points if you can name the movie and are still upset that it didn’t mention or display the Little House books), “A handkerchief is a kleenex you don’t throw away.” You used it, then you washed and hung it to dry before ironing it (the hot iron killed any lingering germs that washing didn’t wash away); then you used it again.

In the Little House books, handkerchiefs range from Pa’s brightly-colored bandana (it wouldn’t show dirt) to Ma’s Sunday best handkerchief that was given to Mrs. Boast as a Christmas present. Every character – whether they mention it or not – always seems to have one at the ready for the simple reason that every historical counterpart to the book character probably did have one with them at all times. Although sold in stores, many handkerchiefs were probably handmade, and even purchased handkerchiefs could be made more beautiful with an added monogram or crocheted lace. And a handkerchief was the perfect item on which little girls could practice their sewing skills.

A handkerchief made by Laura as a child is on display at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home & Museum in Mansfield, Missouri. It has a blanket stitch hem in blue and an appliqued blue morning glory with green “lazy daisy” leaves and stems that end with three carefully spaced French knots in dark pink. It’s unknown exactly when Laura made this handkerchief, but her vivid description of “morning-glory flowers” surrounding the dugout in On the Banks of Plum Creek may be a clue.

Hemming a handkerchief. Any square of cloth can serve as a handkerchief in a pinch, but the cut edges will unravel. A hem is defined as a “twice-turned fold made on the raw edge of material to prevent the material from fraying out and also to strengthen the material.” The width of the hem depended on the item; a handkerchief hem typically varied from a narrow rolled hem on a lady’s fine handkerchief to a double quarter inch fold on a handkerchief for everyday use. The folded hem was ironed or pressed with the fingers or fingernail and may have been pinned in place prior to sewing. Hems were held in place by the hemming stitch, blind stitch, running stitch, hand hemming, a decorative stitch (such as Laura’s blanket stitch), or machine stitching or machine hemstitching. The drawing below (left to right) shows the hem stitch, blanket stitch, and rolled hem. — Blanche E. Hyde, The Sewing Book (New York: The Century Company, 1928), 122-129.

     

handkerchief (BW 1, 9; FB 4, 20; LHP 13-14, 17; BPC 21; SSL 4, 19, 21; TLW 11, 18; LTP 8, 15, 19; THGY 1, 15, 24, 33; PG), see also drop-the-handkerchief, bandana
     blue handkerchief used as veil over Baby Rose’s face (FFY second year)
     blue silk (THGY 15)
     Carrie gives Laura a handkerchief with machine-made lace (THGY 33)
     covering injured eye (FB 20)
     cowboy neckerchief (LHP 13)
     crocheted lace edged – Ma’s best Sunday handkerchief given to Mrs. Boast as Christmas gift (SSL 21)
     Drop-the-Handkerchief, game (PG)
     engagement ring tied in (THGY 24)
     hemming (SSL 19, hemmed SSL 21, LTP 19)
     Indian beads wrapped in (LHP 14)
     Laura cuts out and Mary hemstitches a muslin handkerchief as Christmas gift for Ma (SSL 19, 21)
     machine made lace edged (LTP 19)
     Money tied in handkerchief and pinned inside Mary’s pocket (BPC 21)
     Mr. Edwards leaves $20 bill in Mary’s handkerchief (TLW 11)
     used as doll blanket (BW 1)
     used as a napkin to wipe mouth / hands (LHP 17; LTP 8)
     used as washcloth (SSL 4)
     used to wrap candy heart (BW 9)

(top to bottom) Muslin handkerchief with plain hem, handkerchief with machine-made lace, handkerchief with embroidered flowers and pulled-thread hem; whitework handkerchief with pulled thread hemstitching, rolled border, and tatted lace.