Everything old is new again thanks to Hanneman

ELMORE – Elmore resident Evelyn Hanneman is helping to preserve some of the country’s most intricately beautiful history — one pillowcase at a time.

Hanneman restores vintage linens — the kinds her grandmothers would have handmade and used in their homes — and sells them at a consignment stand at Crafty Needle Yarns and Threads in downtown Elmore. Her collection includes a wide variety of pieces, such as tablecloths, sheets, pillowcases, aprons and baby clothes.

The pieces represent a decades-long period in history, when mothers passed down to daughters the hand arts, such as crocheting and tatting, which filled their homes with functional yet esthetic pieces.

“I’ve always loved linens. I think they’re special, especially the vintage linens. People don’t have time to do that anymore,” Hanneman said. “Tatting is a rarity to find today. It’s difficult to do.”

Hanneman began restoring vintage linens about 10 years ago after seeing them in resale shops, knowing many of them were destined for rag bins.

“I don’t like to see all these beautiful works torn up and used for cleaning purposes,” she said.

Now, Hanneman searches for the pieces at resale shops, garage sales and estate sales. Although the crocheting and tatting may be intact, the material is often damaged. It may be discolored from time or exposure to harsh chemicals like starch and soaps.

Over time, she developed a restoration process that brings the pieces back to their original condition, looking white and new. It is not a quick process, taking up to a week and half from start to finish. She begins with a long soak for the linens.

“I soak them in lukewarm water for two to three days to get the yellow out, and I have a restoration product I discovered for linens. I buy it from a firm in Pennsylvania. It will take the yellow out of it, and it’s not harmful to the fabric at all,” she said.

After the soak, the linen is rack dried and then ironed.

“I don’t put it in the dryer. That takes the body out of the fabric. And I do not use starch. That’s another deposit that can affect a fabric,” she said.

The results are exquisite. Pieces that, only a few days before, were yellowed and useless can now grace formal dining room tables and add elegance to bedrooms. The customers that purchase them are attracted not only to their beauty, but also to their history.

“The people that buy them are just appreciative that they’re vintage,” said Christie Alter, an employee at Crafty Needle. “A lot of time, people are just into the nostalgia, that it’s been around for generations. It reminds them of grandma’s tablecloth.”

Alter said the pieces are even popular with her generation, which is too young to have seen these types of pieces in use, even in their grandmothers’ homes.

“Just in general, anything vintage is popular right now,” she said. “Growing up, I didn’t see this stuff, but I have a few of Evelyn’s pieces. Everything old is becoming new again.”

Knowing her items are being put to use pleases Hanneman. Although some of the pieces she finds are yellowed with time, they are otherwise in good condition, because the original owners were afraid to use something that nice.

“People got them for a wedding gift and were afraid to use them,” Alter said. “Evelyn always makes a point that she wants them to be used again. She cleans them up and sells them, so they won’t be put in a landfill or shoved in a drawer for another 50 years.”

Instead, the hours of tedious work that women put into creating them can be appreciated once again.

“Maybe people will recognize how elegant they are and value them,” Hanneman said.

Crafty Needle is located at 364 Rice St., Elmore. It can be reached at 419-862-0333. To reach Evelyn Hanneman about buying or selling vintage linens, call 419-862-2646.