Handkerchiefs.

Both my parents used "proper" ones. I still have some of my Mum's pretty, lace edged ones. And I remember it became more & more difficult to find the rolled edge ones my Dad used to use.

They did both use tissues as well though. I think my Mum had one in every pocket and tucked up every sleeve!

Tea towels and handkerchiefs - the first step in learning how to iron!

A bygone age thing. My late mum (who would’ve been 94 now) always had cotton handkerchiefs. Kept them in a small drawer with unwrapped bars of soap. Smelt lovely.

I used to get cotton hankies as a present when an older child/early teens. The hanky would always be white with sone embroidery in the corner, and sometimes a lacy edge, it would always be in a box with the hanky folded expertly inside and held together with pins.

I do, I have 'man sized' ladies ones, which I take to yoga with me to wipe my brow when I get a bit hot with all the effort!

I never use cotton hankies, always use tissues. Having said that, I have a few cotton ones in a drawer, which are so beautifully embroidered, I keep them for posterity - too pretty to part with and some have sentimental value. One was intended for my daughter (but which I have kept). DD is now late 30’s, and the lace hankie was given to her by my then 94 year old neighbours with a little note “for Sundays”. Very sweet.

@honeyrose. That is sweet.
I kept a couple of boxed hankies from when I was a girl, because they were so pretty, but the cotton material has developed stains with age and the box has faded.

I like a cotton handkerchief. Maybe not as hygienic as tissues, but much nicer, and softer for the nose.

I always use tissues but DD2 loves a real hankie but man sized ones with a quirky design on. Her niece always buys her a new one as part of her Christmas present. I do most of the ironing in our house ( we live together) and they arrive back in her bedroom neatly ironed into a a perfect square.

I often had them as presents when young but haven't used them myself for years.

I use a cotton hankie for a gentle nose wipe but tissues for a cold.

I get the sniffs when I go into a warm building from being outside and even when I’m walking the dog in the cold. So I like to keep hankies in my pockets ( I get runny eyes, too). It saves me having to go through my pockets looking for rogue bits of tissue when I put a load of washing in the machine.Only use tissues when it comes to proper nose blowing, though. My partner uses a hanky for everything and I hate the way he puts them in with the washing when I stay with him.

I use tissues, my husband and son’s use handkerchiefs.

I still am washing handkerchiefs with my husbands school name tags on, he is 69.

I only use them when I have a cold, and I use large ones belonging to my son then. I find they don’t make your nose as sore as tissues when you are constantly wiping it.

I always buy tissues containing aloe vera - nice and soft for the nose. Not at all scratchy.

returned to cotton handkerchieves, realised how much tissues contribute to landfill, let alone environmental factors of cutting and processing trees. Much softer on a sore nose too

My other half uses handkerchiefs. He does the laundry in our house, so I let him get on with it. I've always used tissues.

Back in the sixties I recall my mum boiling Dad’s handkerchiefs in an old saucepan she kept specifically for that purpose. I think she put soda in the water but not sure what kind of soap she used. They always came up snowy white and were ironed neatly, ready to be used again. Oddly, while we all used fabric hankies then, only Dad’s were boiled separately while the rest were put in the big boiler with the towels, etc. I wonder why.

I remember the cotton hankies of my childhood, they used to have nursery ryhmes on them.

We lost our beloved little cat last week and I did find a few 'old' but brand new pretty cotton hankies which I then kept handy for my sad moments.

Same as kittylester - always tissues for a cold, but I carry a hanky for a gentle sniff. Also I find that hankies are often useful for other things! (Recently I wrapped up some unexpectedly acquired nasturtium seeds in my hanky, when we were out.)

My lovely mum always used a hankie. And always asked for them for Christmas and birthdays. I’ve kept a couple of them as mementos of her.

I hate, and have always, hated paper tissues they are insubstantial and useless if you have a bad cold. I use kitchen towel. It can withstand the runniest cold and if you pop a few in a pocket or up a sleep to access when required it is not reduced to a useless shred of crumpled tissue paper when you dive into your pocket or sleeve to use it.

I have a beautiful hanky case, full of the handkerchiefs the OP describes. It lives quietly at the back of my undie drawer, has done for years and will until my descendants are clearing my house.

DH uses cotton hankies (except when he has a cold) and they go in with the hottest wash. I use tissues and regularly clear out my coat pockets to find the crumpled up ones (yuck). Think I might go back to cotton “proper” hankies!

Whenever I have a cold I always use proper mens handkerchiefs, never tissues. I have found tissues make my nose very sore, whereas cotton hankies do not. I pop them into a bowl of disinfectant and hot wash after use. No problems. My husband is a tissue user and it is like a game of Hansel and Gretel following him around, he leaves a trail of tissues on chairs, on the floor, on the stairs, in bed, in fact everywhere. I always think if he used a large cotton hankie, he would just keep it in his pocket

Yes we do. DH has heaps, laundered and ironed by me. We have to put them in two piles. One, for best. The other rather larger pile has stains, paint, oil etc and are used only in or around the house.

Yes, I do. Flowery patterned ladies ones and also men’s hankies that belonged to my DH.