As regular readers of this blog know, our house has been sick a LOT lately! I cut up an old pair of flannel pajamas into square-ish shapes, serged the edges (a zig-zag stitch prevents fraying on a regular sewing machine, or you could always get fancy and hem them), and created instant cloth Kleenex (also known as handkerchiefs, although these are hardly sophisticated enough to warrant that title in my mind!)
Turns out, flannel is much softer for noses than even the softest disposable tissue! Emma actually refuses to use the store-bought version now! I made some out of new flannel, also, but the worn-out flannel is nicest, not to mention free!
These are single-use before being run through the washing machine on a sanitize cycle, so you’ll want to make dozens. But any flannel works, so buy cute prints from the fabric store or use old shirts, PJs, or even sheets!
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
We use cloth hankies too, but the funny thing is we still call them “tissues”!
I love my hankies – but what a great way to make some for the kids both of mine have got noses running at the moment.
PS. Also use old towels to make baby wipes or a fleece blanket.
Excellent upcycling tips! =)
I like your idea! I think the would be a great option for us. We go through a lot of kleenex when wear sick! And I know kids would love them. :)
I need to ask Lars to make us some too! We have some fleece pjs that would work out perfect for this.
My son has always had a really runny nose (allergies, plus a lot of colds). And he was always asking me to wipe his nose, especially in the middle of the night. About 6 months ago, we started giving him his sister’s Adas & Anais (sp?) muslin swaddle blankets to bring to bed as a handkerchief. It’s HUGE. Now he drags one around the house with him when he’s sick. I’m kind of wishing I hadn’t gotten the bright pink designs! Haha. I want to cut them up into quarters for him soon (sister is long done with them). I also need to find some super soft flannel and sew him up some a little more gender neutral :)
Do you like the Aden & Anais swaddle blankets? I’ve looked at those before and wondered how they are…
I just opened our second box of tissues in two days! This seems to be the never ending cold and it’s a nasty one.
Hope your family is now recovered.
Lily is still sick here, but everyone else has recovered. Hope you family is completely healthy soon!
We use “booger blankets” which are those tiny swaddling blankets that you get 6 to a pack. We got so many for J when he was born – and he was too big to use them as swaddling blankets. They are also soft-ish flannel.
Great idea – those were too small to swaddle my kids in, too!
Great idea – we need ’em too! I think my son would like learning how to keep it in his pocket too!
That would be so soft. Do you wash them after each use? I can’t imagine having to wash all of them. LOL!
I do wash them after each use – just throw them in with all of our other laundry. And we keep the clean ones in a bowl – don’t bother folding.
Brilliant idea!!!
I’ve got a few handkerchiefs that I’m using right now and I agree. I might have to track down some nice soft flannel also.
Great idea! My nose is raw from using regular tissues during my cold.
Awesome repurpose! I can imagine how soft flannel would be for the nose.
We do that, too, otherwise I swear we’d go through a box of kleenex a day!