Cloth handkerchiefs—sustainable or old-fashioned?

Hello everyone,

I’m sure many of you use those handy, always-on-hand disposable tissues every day. But are you aware that they have a very poor environmental footprint? Their production consumes a lot of wood, a lot of energy, and a lot of water. And when they’re bleached, scented, and made soft to the touch, harmful chemicals are released that leave their mark on the tissues and the environment. Everything generated during the production process has to be disposed of, too. On top of that, every little pack is wrapped in plastic, which in turn is packed along with many others in a colorfully printed plastic bulk package. Used tissues and their packaging keep adding to our growing mountains of trash.

What did our great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents use for their noses?

Exactly… cloth handkerchiefs. Many of us still remember them from back in the day. Sometimes you’d receive them as gifts—with pretty, delicate lace trim around the edges—in beautiful packaging. Some even had embroidered initials. The cloth handkerchiefs for children had cute fairy-tale characters on them. Do you still remember?

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Then the industry came along and showed us that “disposable tissues” existed. Always at the ready, always spotless, used once, quickly thrown away. At some point, for the sake of convenience, we probably got used to using only these. Today, you’ll hardly find a woman’s handbag without them. All mothers also keep them handy just in case.

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But is that still appropriate today? We simply have to ask ourselves this question. Are we just going along with it without thinking, or can we do something to change that?

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Yes, I can!

Yesterday I sewed cloth handkerchiefs for the men in my family.
They’re made of boil-proof cotton fabric and can be washed in the washing machine on the boil cycle at any time. That reliably kills all bacteria and germs. A quick pass with the iron, and they look good enough to put in the closet. I skip the ironing—for me, just shaking them out once before hanging them up is perfectly sufficient.

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I used an old cotton bedsheet that had been washed countless times. The light blue color had already faded in some spots from drying in the sun on the clothesline. But that doesn’t matter when blowing your nose. I quickly did a “nose test” on myself. I found the fabric to be pleasantly soft and sturdy enough—so just right for handkerchiefs.

I cut out many 42 x 42 cm squares (men’s size; smaller for women and children). Then I folded the top and bottom edges over about 1 cm and ironed the fold right away. Then I folded the hem over again and ironed it down right away. I attached three fabric clips and sewed the folded edges close to the edge with a straight stitch.

Then I folded the other two sides over twice, ironed them, and sewed them. 



Even beginners can do this! It’s a great way to practice sewing in a straight line and securing the seam. So there aren’t any major hurdles. In the end, my men’s handkerchiefs measured about 38 x 38 cm.





By the end of the afternoon, I’d sewn 8 handkerchiefs—and I still have fabric left over. They don’t even all have to be exactly the same size. Who cares?



I enjoyed sewing them—especially knowing that I’d created something useful, practical, and sustainable. I only use disposable tissues in emergencies now.

Next, I’ll be looking for some pretty fabrics for women’s and children’s handkerchiefs. After all, we don’t just need them to be practical—we want them to be pretty, too :-)

Maybe this is a little inspiration for you?

Warm regards from Ina

P.S. Of course, you can also buy cloth handkerchiefs.

Ina, that's a great sustainable idea, and the old bed linens have been given a new lease on life. They're neatly sewn and very pretty too :-)))

Best regards, Inge

Dear Ina, I still use cloth handkerchiefs. No one else in the family does—there are lots of arguments against them. But I much prefer them.

I can never have enough. Thanks for your idea of using old bed linen. I’ll sew some for myself soon; it’s good to have a stash.

Same goes for Zewa Wisch und Weg—another thing the world doesn’t need. Dishcloths would do just fine.

And wet wipes too—we used to always carry a damp washcloth with us. No trash and reusable over and over again

Dear Ina,

thank you for this truly useful and lovely reminder. I think it makes a lot of sense, and it’s a wonderful way to turn old T-shirts and even bedding into handkerchiefs.

I’ll definitely give it a try. And yes, I even still have some cloth handkerchiefs, but only a few.

Best regards
Monika

At home, I use cloth handkerchiefs. We still have quite a few of them. They’re from my in-laws. I’ve often thought I was the only one who still washes and irons cloth handkerchiefs :) I’m glad that’s not the case.
When I’m out and about, I don’t find them hygienic enough, so I prefer to use tissues.

I’ll admit right now that I’m not at all sustainable in this area. The thought of cloth handkerchiefs is really hard for me—when it comes to that kind of germ-filled snot, I’m a fan of disposable hygiene products.

I really only need tissues when I have a cold, and then I go through a lot—covering that with cloth handkerchiefs would take a huge number of them. I actually still have a few cloth ones lying around here, but they would never be enough for that.
For when I’m out and about, they’re just too impractical for me; the clean ones take up a lot of space, and carrying the used ones around with me—no way.
I’m Team Paper Tissues, and fully convinced of it.

I always have a cloth handkerchief in my trouser pocket (otherwise something feels like it’s missing).... my husband too... The boys also have a cloth handkerchief in their trouser pockets. The girls are more likely to have a paper tissue.

It’s a good idea—I’ve thought about it myself many times. When I was young, we only had cloth handkerchiefs. I even still have the ones with lace for crying elegantly in church. We didn’t use those when we had a cold back then either (way too good for that). And the simple men’s and women’s handkerchiefs.
  But what’s holding me back are modern washing machines. I just bought a new one. It can’t wash at 90 degrees anymore—60 is the limit. I remember that we used to soak the handkerchiefs in salt water beforehand to dissolve any residue. That doesn’t come out easily, even with a boil wash.
The alternative would be to boil them on the stove. Do I really want to do that?
 So, my conclusion: I’m happy to use them if my nose is just running because of the cold. I’ll even carry the lace ones in my purse. But not when I’m sick.
That’s when I’m glad paper tissues exist.
Best regards, Marita 

Back then, we didn’t know any different. It was normal, and I liked using them. The cloth handkerchiefs were then washed and ironed. I tended to save the crocheted handkerchiefs for “special” occasions or use them as pretty doilies. They were far too nice to blow your nose into.
Today, unfortunately, I’m also a fan of Tempo tissues. They’re so versatile (as a handkerchief, napkin, or cleaning cloth for shoes—for small dirt spots...)

glg Andrea

Cloth handkerchiefs don’t need to be boiled! That said, I wouldn’t skip ironing them on a high steam setting, because that’s how I kill the germs.

Likewise, I wouldn’t want to use a handkerchief without my initials on it 😬

I catch a cold at least once a year, so I easily go through 30 packs of paper tissues in two weeks. For the rest of the year, one cloth handkerchief is enough.

I grew up using paper tissues; it was hard for me to get used to cloth ones. But you wash baby clothes together with the regular laundry, don’t you? If drool, snot, and vomit don’t bother you there, why should they bother you with a handkerchief?

Regardless of where you stand on the issue, I’ve at least encouraged you to think about it. I have children and grandchildren, and I’m committed to them. I want them to grow up in a beautiful world—and every small step toward that is worth it.

Thank you for your attention. Perhaps my post will inspire some of you to reconsider your views.

Warm regards, Ina

I’d find cloth handkerchiefs too unhygienic. I also find them rather impractical when I’m out and about—where do you put the damp, snotty handkerchief? Washing and ironing cloth handkerchiefs also requires energy, water, and laundry detergent. Nah, I’d rather stick with paper.

I’d already thought about this, too, because (new) cloth handkerchiefs are donated to our thrift store every now and then. 🤔 But I still couldn’t bring myself to do it. I could, however, imagine a compromise: using cloth at home and disposables when I’m out and about. But I wouldn’t be bored enough to sew my own. 😉
I need napkins every day at home and eventually got tired of disposable ones. 🙁 So I made myself a few out of fabric (woven fabric). But even here I was lazy and just neatened the edges all around with the serger. 🤭

I have lots of cloth handkerchiefs, kept in an embroidered handkerchief case from needlework class—that’s how we used to learn it. The case was embroidered with all sorts of different stitches—how I hated that! The handkerchiefs themselves were also embroidered and edged with crochet, the lace stretched taut... Never used for blowing your nose, after all that work. Instead, I had the printed ones with floral patterns—a different one every day. In elementary school, the teacher would check us every morning: clean fingernails, a clean handkerchief on hand; if not, we had to write out a reminder sentence... Does anyone else remember that from their school days?
I’m definitely Team Tissue!