Doily Dilemma

[Coffeywoman]

I've begun "rescuing" doilies I find in thrift stores to honour them and those who made them. I hope to crochet them together into items such as curtains, bed skirts, lamp shades etc. The other day an elderly lady informed me that some of the doilies I held were not authentic; that they are machine made. Is this possible? When I look at them I see the same stitches I would make myself. I've been crocheting for 40 years and would like to think I couldn't be fooled so easily. Is it possible for a machine to crochet? If so, is there a way to tell them apart?

[magiccrochetfan]

From everything i have read, there is no machine that crochets. You can google and find an entry for crochet machine, but when you look at the info, it actually makes some kind of ribbon or lace edging.

 

There definitely is machine made lace and if that is made from cotton thread it can look like crochet, but on close inspection you can tell there are no actual crochet stitches.

 

Also in stores i have seen sweaters that seemed to be crocheted even at close range. But when i held the fabric and looked very closely i could see it was knit stitches arranged to look like crochet---in that case, a granny square!

 

As you have probably noticed, you can now buy crocheted doilies in craft stores for very low price which are made by hand in

China. I think the lady might have been thinking of these, and wrongly believed they are made by machine.

 

Both of what you pictured are definitely crocheted as far as i can see.

[Avon Lady]

I agree 100% with Kathy!  Many of those "cheap" doilies you can find in craft stores or dollar stores ARE crocheted by hand--probably some little Chinese lady supporting her family on $1 or $2 a day!!  I love them all, and anytime I find those in yard sales or thrift stores, I try to buy some, like you said, Coffeywoman, to honor those little ladies!  Bless their hearts--they do beautiful work!

[magiccrochetfan]

just to illustrate the machine-made lace that is often called "crochet", this ribbon http://www.papermart.com/cotton-crochet-lace-trim/id=50582?origin=product_ads&id=58154352&Product_Type=Gift%20Packaging&utm_source=google&utm_medium=adwords&utm_campaign=product_ads&gclid=Cj0KEQjw0fOoBRDn88Pol8bqhN0BEiQARGVJKqLKwOskzjxPGV9nFQ-cHe8T3ZT7WhudxZfX0kokZSkaAjmZ8P8HAQ

and this poncho http://www.chicwish.com/boho-day-floral-crochet-poncho-3952.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjw0fOoBRDn88Pol8bqhN0BEiQARGVJKldBVFUfEHF8QQnhX52GVbyiBQBuFsbOBRphKC66kOMaAgQZ8P8HAQ

are machine-made lace.  A person could crochet something that looks a lot like those, but they weren't made by crocheting.  

[Granny Square]

If you have the object in hand, like your thrift store finds, it's easy to tell if it's real or not with close inspection.

 

I have a machine knit tablecloth (because, while I like to crochet doilies, I know I would never have the patience to make such a big item) that looks just like filet crochet from across the hall, but is obviously not the real thing close up.

[LI Roe]

I agree also, from what I have read and seen, so far there is no machine (and honestly, hope they never invent one) to crochet items. There are knitting machines but no crochet ones.

 

Roe

[sarisue]

I don't think there's a machine either. The ones you posted are hand crocheted and nice but not sure if from a store or not. I like your idea very much.