where did all the soft cotton bandanas go????

[Jennifer Mitol]

hahahahaha i love you guys!

Glad to see I wasn't the only one lamenting the loss of the hankies of old…

Ken, I have four from REI and they all still suck. I want one like my grandpa's old hanky……

[Dan Yeruski]

Here ya go…pre-washed

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Deluxe-100-PreWashed-Soft-Cotton-Bandana-Black-Paisley-w-Skulls-Crossbones-/311246740519?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4877c05c27

An exclusive ZANheadgear® DELUXE Bandana design on medium weight, 100% Pre-Washed cotton Material. One of the nicest bandanas on the market. Comes out of the package Soft and Wrinkle Free! All 4 edges of these DELUXE Bandanas are sewn to prevent fraying and at a size of 22 inches X 22 inches, these DELUXE Bandanas can be worn in many, many different ways.

[Kate Magill]

Well, I like cotton birdseye flats as a bandana alternative–they're the old-school diapers. Not the thick, quilted ones, just one thin layer of cotton. More textured than a bandana, but I find they soften up quicker on the wash. Get the unbleached ones, not the bleached. They're a little bigger than a 'dana–probably 25 or 26" after being washed/dried. Sometimes they shrink more in one direction than the other and come out rectangular, but that doesn't bother me too much. And you can dye them fun colors! Make great dish towels as well. Speaking of dish towels, those 5-for-$5 flour sack towels sold at walmart would also make a good bandana substitute. Super thin and get soft very fast (but my ancient top-loading washing machine chews them up).

[Anonymous]

"where did all the soft cotton bandanas go????"

They left with all the cowboys.

So, the real question is, where have all the cowboys gone?

IF Paula Cole knows something, and i suspect she does, she is not telling anyone…

[Roger Caffin]

We haven't bought bandanas or handkerchief for decades. My wife buys suitable cotton fabric by the metre and makes them herself. Dead simple sewing, and you get exactly what you want.

Cheers

[Kenneth Jacobs]

I have about 8 of the older style bandanas…how much $$ you got?

…make that 7. I gave the yellow one to Julie. It serves the role of your black one. Reminder to self, don't touch Jen's black bandana. ;O)

KJ

[Dean F.]

Sorry to necro, but I wanted to put this out there-

If you’re in the market for a particularly large 100% cotton bandana, I like the US military issue “Neckerchief, Man’s, 100% Cotton, Knitted”. That link is to Amazon, but you can just google the NSN 8440-01-148-4549 and hundreds of milsurp stores pop up. But $10 for this is ridiculous- a couple of bucks is more reasonable.

They are ostensibly 24″ x 72″, so huge, though they will shrink when washed. This is long enough to tie around your neck in all sorts of creative ways like a cravat or scarf (I like the loop-n-though) or wrap your entire head like a shemagh. They are large enough to serve truely practically as a towel, unlike a bandana. Or, cut it into three 2-foot squares. The material is 100% cotton knit indistinguishable from the old US Army brown 436 t-shirts, so quite soft. (I.e. it’s knitted t-shirt material, not woven.)

Foliage green ones (NSN 8440-01-526-7862) are issued now- I have one- but I only see them for sale on eBay whereas the brown ones are everywhere.

Or you could just google or search Amazon for “cotton scarf” and find something similar.

[Lee O]

I joined BPL just to respond to this thread.  I wanted to thank Dean F. for his suggestion.  I’ve been on a quest for good, soft, absorbent handkerchiefs for a few years, since my good old (really old) ones are barely holding together.  I’ve tried all the ones suggested on this thread and washed them many, many, many times and they were never like the good old ones. They remained stiff, and worse… nonabsorbent!  I found this thread and ordered one of the military neckerchiefs and… they’re brilliant!  Soft, thick, absorbent… like blowing your nose in your t-shirt.  I even found some of the olive-drab ones on eBay, though most are coyote brown.  I use them to blow my nose while hiking/hunting, so was looking for something that blended in with the woods. I cut the neckerchief into 3 2’x2′ pieces and now have 3 large, excellent hankys!  And, I just ordered another one.  Thanks Dean!

[Pamhikes]

I’ve been making mine with Pima cotton or 100% cotton.  My son has a textile issue and likes them to be super soft.   The one he has on is fishing related…either salt water or fresh water fish.  I might make a few extra to sell if anyone is interested.

[Jeffs Eleven]

1000 orders later… pamhikes morphs into pamhides

[Pamhikes]

@woodenwizard…lol!  Just thought I would throw that out.  Love our bandanas?

[Liz Black]

Well looks like I’ll cut up Walmart sack flour dish towel and make bandana – soft right ?  Wonder if it Freys?

[Edward John M]

My beloved wife makes my bandannas for me; but in the original fabric width style so most of mine are 42 or 45 inches square. The best ones are of a silk and cotton blend, weigh very little and very soft and fine

[Edward John M]

If you want the real thing here is a link. Don’t faint at the prices tho

https://www.burnleyandtrowbridge.com/neck-handkerchiefs.aspx

[Ken M]

I don’t consider myself old but after reading through this post I had to go upstairs and dig in the top dresser drawer to look at my stash of “real” bandanas.  I hate to say it but a couple of these nearly new rags are probably older that some of you hikers out there.

So over the years I too have seen the disappearance of real cotton bandanas.  Mostly what I see now are those terrible ONE SIDED, loosely woven, silk screened pattern, made in China rags. No wonder the paint on these never softens up.   I took a close look at my specimens that are  “printed” neatly on BOTH sides.  The difference?  The pattern is WOVEN into the cloth…hence the pattern on both sides.

Thanks for starting this thread.  Now I know I have collector grade bandanas.  Probably going for top prices on ebay?

[Ken M]

Since I couldn’t seem to edit my previous post,  I will make a correction…

After starring at my wonderful bandana for a while with a 40x magnifier I now don’t think the pattern was woven in.  It had to be some dye process that transfered cleanly through and left a sharp, bright image on both sides.  None the less,  still much nicer, softer that anything I see today.

[AK Granola]

Darn this old thread! I thought Jen was back. Too bad!

[lisa r]

My favorite source is the nicely broken in bandanas I find along trails. I own 5 soft bandanas and haven’t paid for one yet. Of course, you have to be careful about what you’re picking up and sometimes it’s best to leave them where they lay…

[Liz Black]

I just bought towels for dishes made out of flour sacks will cut them to what ever Size I want and I absolutely love the softness – like six bucks for two large ones.   Heard you can find these at Walmart.  I bought at local fabric store  they are white so won’t be white very long !

[Diane Pinkers]

second that–miss Jen!

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