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For Vintage & Antique Linens & Hankies

 

Vintage, Handmade & One-Of-A-Kind Linens, Lace & Hankies

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Complete Website Contents -- Linens, Lace, Hankies, Home Decor, Etc. Etc.!

 

vintage antique linens and hankies

A Sampling Of Vintage & Antique Linens
Wedding Hankies, Handmade & Figural Lace & Monograms

HANDMADE ADDS heart vintage antique linens, lace hankies TO YOUR HOME

Collect Vintage & Antique Linens

In olden times, the traditional bride's dowry began with her hope chest of linens.

As soon as she could manipulate needle and thread, she practiced embroidery and lace making, adding piece after piece to the chest. Friends and relatives contributed treasured antique and vintage heirloom linens.

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vintage antique linens, lace hankies handmade figural lace doily
Antique Handmade Figural Lace Doily
Perhaps a talented aunt invented her own figural lace patterns; a variety of figures, cherubs, birds, kittens, etc. in cutwork, needle or filet lace became figural lace borders or inserts. Another busied her hands with dainty Irish lace; still another stitched exquisite Society Silk or Madeira Marghab style embroidery. All of these would decorate the bride's linens.
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vintage antique linens, lace hankies society silk embroidered table topper
Antique Soiciety Silk Table Topper
Occasionally several women would work together to create one gorgeous, unique piece with figural and Irish lace, Madeira embroidery and whatever other techniques their nimble fingers could execute.

One by one, a lifetime supply of beautiful handmade linens accumulated.

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vintage antique linens, lace hankies limerick lace wedding hankie
Vintage Wedding Hankie
Limerick Lace
As her needs progressed from the wedding hankie to the Christening cap, her hope chest provided a seemingly endless variety of linens. Whether she needed sturdy tablecloths and huck linen towels for her kitchen, table runners, dresser scarves and guest towels to decorate her home or linen damask tablecloths with monogrammed napkins for a sit-down dinner, she was prepared!

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vintage antique linens, lace hankies monogrammed huck linen towel
Vintage Huck Linen Towel
Embroidered Monogram
The most elaborate of these were "saved for best" and used only on very special occasions. Exquisite pieces of Normandy lace, Marghab and Society Silk embroidery have survived almost untouched for generations. Even everyday, household linens were frequently embroidered, monogrammed or lace edged. 

Antique and vintage linens add a warm, heirloom feeling to your home.

What could be more personal than the lace tablecloth handmade by your own grandmother? But, aside from sentimentality, a linen doesn't have to be antique or vintage to be charming.
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vintage antique linens, lace hankies folk art hand embroidered wall hanging
Folk Art Embroidered
Wall Hanging
Of course you can't always expect a pre-owned linen to be in pristinely, brand-new condition. It is the one-of-a-kind effect, usually achieved by handwork of some kind, that makes each piece special. 

Many of our older linens come from Connecticut estates.

Each has been selected for that certain something that makes it unique. Enjoy browsing through our site. You, too, may find that certain something that will be just right for your home.

 

vintage antique linens, lace hankies articles searchheart    FINDING WHAT YOU WANT    vintage antique linens, lace hankies articles searchheart2

Older Linens, Lace & Hankies Are Unique

Vintage and antique linens were usually handmade to suit the individual homemaker's purpose.

Many don't fit neatly into a category. Thus, there is overlapping and cross-over between categories. On Hearts-Desires each piece will be displayed only once; but possibly not in the category where you first expect to find it. For example: I consider table runners and dresser scarves to be long rectangles or ovals; table toppers to be round or square. You may decide that shape is not the determining factor in choosing the linen to complement your decor.

So our inens are classified by purpose rather than style.

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vintage antique linen and figural lace table runner
Vintage Linen &
Figural Lace
Table Runner

There are fifteen sections of hankies alone! And some of those sections contain three or more pages; each with 30 to 50 unique items! There's a lot to see.

4 Easy Steps to Finding "THE ONE"

1. Click on the link to entire site contents at the top of any page.

2. The contents page is arranged by categories; the categories by sub-categories, linked to gallery pages. Click the one that suits your search.

      (For example: You are looking for a decorative linen for your dining room table. See "Linens For Your Home". A list of sub-categories will show. Choose the one that seems most appropriate for your situation; possibly large or small tablecloths, table runners, table toppers, doilies, napkins or placemats.)

3. The Gallery page will show small pictures of available items. Click on "Click to Enlarge" for larger photos and details.

4. At the bottom of the detail page click "continue"; you will return to the previous page where you may add the item to your shopping cart or continue browsing.

If you are looking for a specific attribute, enter your keywords, such as "folk art" or "tambour lace" into the search box above the contents.

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vintage antique linen table topper
Vintage Linen & Lace Table Topper
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antique metallic embroidered needle art linen
Antique Metallic
Embroidered Scarf

You may also wish to check our Needle Arts page, which displays some of the finest handmade antique and vintage linens available. Most of these aren't categorized, but may be adapted to your special purpose.

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antique vintage embroidered needle art linen
Antique Embroidered
Linen

The articles are a mixed bag. Some, such as "Collecting Vintage Hankies", are designed to introduce the beginning collector the many possibilities available. Some, such as "The Wonderful Little Buttonhole Stitch", consider a single aspect of vintage linens in minutest detail. Some, such as "Web Pages Are Copyrighted!" were written out of personal experience, and may be of interest to others who enjoy shopping for linens on the internet.

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vintage antique cherub linen hanky
Cherub on
Vintage Linen Hanky

Note: Photos illustrating this article show actual examples of vintage and antique linens that were available at writing time. They may, or may not, still be available. All items shown on gallery pages should be currently available for you,

Order with confidence. Your linens and hankies will be carefully packaged within a plastic wrapping and appropriate envelope or box; mailed ASAP, usually within one business day. Your satisfaction is guaranteed with our 15 day return - 100% refund policy.

So, again, enjoy browsing our site. Thank you for visiting. New items are added almost daily; so, "Y'all come back!"

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Complete Website Contents -- Linens, Lace, Hankies, Home Decor, Etc. Etc.!


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Hearts Desires -- 137 Pine Hill Rd. Thomaston, Ct. 06787
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Updated 01/30/22