It's a 3 Hankie Event!

Well, ok, maybe just one...

My daughter is getting married in 2 weeks!!!!! Ok, ok, calming down....Anyhow, she asked if I would crochet or tat or knit a little something for her to carry down the aisle. I got the idea to use a hankie that my grandmother had carried when she got married. It was linen, and she had tatted a lovely edge in white. My mother also carried it on her wedding day, but didn't add anything to it...

I bought some light wedgwood blue tatting thread, size 80 (very, very, VERY thin) and contemplated how best to add a row to her edging, while keeping hers visible. I quickly discovered that she had used an even thinner thread, so tatting joins would be difficult. I didn't fancy sewing on a knitted lace edging, so that left crochet.

I didn't want a huge ruffled edging as I wanted my grandmother's edge to be visible. I started and stopped about a half dozen times - I could have used a pattern, but I wanted it to be my own design. Finally, I hit on a simple yet elegant pattern and set to work. How long could it take to crochet a simple edge around an 8" square hankie, you ask? With size 80 thread and a size 13 hook.....about 4 days. Four. Long. Days.


Well, it was a good thing, as Martha would say, as it A) turned out beautifully IMHO and B) My daughter will have a bit of me, her grandmother and her great grandmother to walk down the aisle with her.

Her is a picture of the finished hankie:

And a close up of the edging, mine and my grandmother's:

The pattern, if you're interested, was simply chain 8 loops all around. The corners were dc, ch3, dc, ch3, dc. Next round was 6 dc, picot, 6 dc in each ch 8 loop around. The corners were 5 tr, picot, 5 tr. Then the completed hankie was gently washed in a little lavender shampoo and the ironed. No starch or stiffener was used.