Hankie for Liam

Since I've become a mom, I can't get over how often kids get sick. This morning Liam woke up with the sniffles not two weeks after he had a terrible fever due to viral bronchitis. Maybe it's just me, but kids' noses seem to perpetually run when they are sick and I go through a ton of kleenex.

I've been thinking about hankies for Liam to use when he has the sniffles because I grew up on a farm where hankies were an extra appendage and were regarded as being next to godliness. If you dared to use even cheap toilet paper to blow your nose, your frugal dutch heritage was put into question.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling now. I had a brain wave this morning as I was sorting through some old t-shirts and decided I could make Liam a hankie of his own. (Kindra inspired me with her t-shirt bibs). I chose an old shirt of mine made from 100% cotton and cut a square out of it.

NOTE: There's lots of cotton shirts out there, but you want to pick the really thin flimsy ones to use for hankies. The thick cotton shirts won't absorb the snot well enough. Girl shirts made of 100% cotton seem to be the best for hankies. Just look in your closet for that shirt that clings to all your rolls and you're bound to get a shirt that's just right for hankies.

HANKIE: THE MAKING OF

I pinned and sewed down the edges.

With a fabric pencil I drew the outline of a truck.

I then put the hankie in a hoop to add tension so that stitching would be easier.

And then I happily stitched away.

Liam loves his hankie and thinks the truck is pretty cool. He's the only kid on the block with a black hankie too - how fabulous is that? Liam's one happy guy and this dutch mom is happy too because we're not wasting toilet paper anymore.