my cuty ...My handkerchief obsession...

6/17/2016 

I stumbled a  file in my computer  and found this pic of my g-daughter, I think my son snapped this.

 My kerchief obsession.....

When I studied in 6th standard in a girl middle school near our village, home science was my one of an interesting subject  we learned how to make a   Fringes on the   edges    of a handkerchief and bend a blanket stitch in class. I think since then I developed my habit of having handkerchief in my hand when going outside the home may be for  school, college, market anywhere and they all were made by me with beautiful corner embroidery and decorative blanket stitches or fringes on the sides.

In Haryana it was a custom to embroider handkerchiefs for husband (especially monogrammed with their names, their husband's name and may be names of other family members of her in-laws)to be in marriages. Girls use to embroider handkerchief to take with them in their in-laws house when they got married. There were many songs on handkerchiefs which were going to sung during marriage ceremonies in Haryana.  

  

I searched in internet and found

This information about popularity of kerchief in Europe

The functional and social roles of handkerchiefs have altered over time, with changes in fashions and etiquette prompting alterations in their appearance and use. Examinations of inventories, bills and contemporary accounts support the proposal that the use of handkerchiefs became increasingly widespread in the 18th century. This most likely resulted from the growing popularity of snuff-taking during this period. 

In a letter of 1713, Lisolette von der Pfalz (Duchess of Orleans, the wife of Louis XIV’s younger brother), described her disgust at the popularity of snuff at the French court.

‘There is nothing in the world that disgusts me more than the habit of snuffing tobacco. . . . With a nose soiled with tobacco, a person looks as if he had fallen into the mud. The King hates it, but his children and grand-children take it, although they know that it displeases him. . . .’

Despite its critics, the fashion for snuff-taking continued to spread throughout Europe over the century, adopted by both men and women who did not belong to the aristocracy.

My explanation continued …

In Haryana since my childhood I noticed that old ladies used to take snuff. My great grandma and my grandma(my father’s elder aunt were addicted to take snuff but they didn’t use handkerchief to carry the kerchief or to clean their nose. When required they used to clean their nose with their odhnies/duppattas (size 50”×100” ). And they carry their snuff in small tin containers and put them in the pockets of their shirts. They always have side pockets in their shirts.

In Later years  I crocheted the edgings with finer crochet hook also, and I crocheted several handkerchiefs in different colours and crocheted edgings  like this.  My habit of taking kerchief in my hand is prevailed till now. During traveling in our car with my son, I used to put my handkerchief on my lap, when I step out of car I usually forgot to take it in my hand and it drops on ground and I got  my foot on it and it soiled, then I take out my other one.

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