Vintage Handkerchief Sachets

One of my favorite things about crafting is finding ways to give new life to old things. This project is a great way to use the piles of beautiful old hankies that always pop up at thrift and antique shops. These are often way too delicate to use for their original purpose, but they make the perfect accent on pretty sachets that look (and smell) divine tucked into a drawer or hung in a closet.


I made my first set of sachets as a Christmas gift for my sister. My parents had recently given me several large boxes of various things from my grandparents house, and I knew that I wanted to incorporate those memories into her present some way. I hoped to make something aesthetic, feminine, and useful (my sister absolutely despises clutter), and when I came upon a large bag of my grandmother's hankies, the idea of sachets was born. They made a really lovely gift when filled with french lavender and tied up with a velvet ribbon.


Recently, I made a few more of these for a personal swap with the wonderful LindsayLuu (of LindsayLuu Designs on Etsy).


I make these as if they were tiny pillows. Start with one 5" square and two 3.5"x5" rectangles of your background fabric. Hem one long edge of each rectangle. Place the 5" square under one corner of your hankie, adjust until it looks nice, and cut out the corner following the lines of the square. Place your square face up on your table, your hankie corner face up on top of that, and both rectangles face down on top of those, with hemmed edges towards the center and one rectangle overlapping the other (so the entire stack should make a 5" square, with all edges lined up). If you want to hang your sachet, put a loop of ribbon in between the hankie corner and the two rectangles, with the loop facing down, and the cut ends of the ribbon facing up (I've also used rick rack and lace as hanging loops). Pin everything in place and sew around the square. Flip inside out, and you have the "pillow case" for your sachet.

Now cut two 4.5" squares from scrap material (I use a loosely woven muslin). Place one square on top of the other and stitch around 3 and a half sides. Fill with lavender (or anything you like), and stitch the hole shut. Slip this "pillow" inside the case, and your sachet is finished! Enjoy seeing it in your underwear drawer in the morning!

From the research I've done, it seems that your sachet should last about a year. If it starts to lose its scent earlier, you can squeeze it to give it a fresh burst. When the scent is totally gone, all you have to do is slip the old pillow out through the flap in the back of your case and slip a new pillow in.