What can you do with a doily?

[Wombat]

I love making doilies, especially those of vintage design, and sell the occasional one through the local shop where I buy my thread. The owner, not a crocheter, likes having them on display and thinks it is a shame that people don't use doilies much anymore.

 

We are now getting our heads together with a "what you can do with a doily" corner - I will supply, she will display. Hopefully, she can sell more patterns, etc. and I can sell more finished doilies.

 

So, I'm making doilies into suncatchers, stitching large ones onto round cushion covers, framing them, adding a row of elastic to make a toilet roll cover, adding beads around the edge to make food bowl covers for outdoor entertaining, and using around dried flowers to make Victorian style posies.

 

Any other ideas on what you can do with a doiley?

[Hummywinger]

Well doilies come in all sizes you know. Have seem small motifs, doilies, added as embellishment to clothing, they are very big on jeans now. How about as a tuck in ..in a letter or card as a little surprise to the one you are writting a letter to or sending one in a get well or birthday card to

 

[cupcake]

Hey Wombat are you an Aussie? if you have 3 you can make a bikini.(lol)

 

I did stiffen some a few years back and made pot pourie hats.

 

To be honest I like the doily as a doily, or at a stretch as a cushion;)

[faithpa76]

One thing I've been fiddling around with is figuring out how to get one into one of those double glass frames - you know where both the front and the back are glass, you see straight through to the wall? Depending on the colors involved could be very striking.

 

Not a very original idea, I suppose, but I have been thinking about ways to keep such things safe and protected in a house full of kids, lol.

[natalie058]

If I were forced to have a doily in my house Faith, I think that is how I'd display it.

 

I also saw something along those lines in a mag awhile back, but can't remember which one and my searches aren't coming up with it either... Where a wooden, store-bought flat bottomed serving tray had the bottom cut out - it was then was replaced by two sheets of Plexi with various things sandwiched inside - some examples being vintage menus, newspaper clippings, and - *doilies.*

 

I thought they were cute, and those trays are only like $5 at Michael's.

[Harvestar]

My mom and I both love to have them hanging over the edges of shelves (book shelves or china cabinets).

 

My grandmother had a coffee table that had a sheet of plexi glass over the top (it was one with a lip). She had pictures of all our family (and it's a BIG one) in it, but you could also put doilies in it too, I bet.

 

I love doilies, but don't have room for them right now. I just made a cute cat filet one, but I'm not sure even where to put it.

[Wombat]

Keep those ideas flowing in. Plan B (and you always need a Plan B) is to gather up all the doilies I have made, stitch them together in patchwork fashion, and turn them into a bedspread!

 

I just love the pretty patterns and I'm sooo impressed with the abilities of those who design/ed them.

[Harvestar]

One idea I saw this weekend was sewing them on top of a fabric table topper. My mom makes those (they are sort of star shaped, with the fabric cut out in the shape of a man's tie, then stitched together in a circle around a circle of fabric in the center). She's made all sorts of ones with different holiday/color schemes. The one I saw in a quilting shop had a doily stitched over the center circle. It looked really nice.

 

What about as a hair accessory - like a bun cover?

 

Folding them to make angel ornaments (I've seen these done out of pretty napkins).

[goldi316]

A couple of ideas I've pondered:

 

Using a doily as a starting-off point, or main component for a lacy sweater, ala motif style - we see many similar types of lacy crocheted cardigans and sweaters out there now, why not use a doily pattern for the motifs?

 

Similarly, take a plain tunic or even a sweatshirt and sew a doily on front and/or back to "spruce" it up. Maybe add a crocheted lacy ruffle to sleeves and/or collar to finish the effect - but that might be going overboard.

 

Like the cardi ideas, a pretty nice lacy skirt (with some kind of lining, for decorum if that's your thing. ) from a few large doilies with filler crocheting tying them together. Or a shawl. Or poncho.

 

These designs are just too beautiful to be hiding them in the house, ya know?

[MaryPat]

I received 6 Xmas ornaments where doilies were wrapped around inexpensive glass bulbs of different colors and tied with ribbons. They're beautiful. Perhaps something similar with easter eggs would work as well.

 

For proms, a round one can be lined with inexpensive fabric to match the dress and then a ribbon can be used to act as a drawstring to close the purse. I made a large number of these for my daughters and their friends. Add beads and they're quite elegant.

[starbright57]

I have made some doilies into bowls by sugar starching them. I have a vintage set of Pyrex primary color bowls and I have starched the doily, turned the bowl upside down, put plastic wrap over it and smoothed the doily over the bowl and let the doily dry. While it is drying you still have time to pull down picots, etc.

 

You can fill them with wrapped candy for Easter, Halloween or with a bigger doily, bill it with Christmas balls.

 

I bought a pattern through the internet to make a bowl look like a spider web which was made out of black thread. And have made one doily that is red for Valentine's day. You could actually make two doilies. One to sit on the table and then the bowl to sit on the doily.

[MuseGimm]

You can make clothing with doiles check out my post about the "haute couture"

musegimm:devil

[TracyD]

If it's a big doily, you can fold it in half, join the edges part way on each side, add a handle and voila - you have a purse! Or, you can do the same thing with two identical doilies (or at least the same size) for a round purse or tote.

 

 

Cheers...

 

Tracy

[klouised]

I thought of the purse idea, too. They are super easy to make, and are in fashion. Also, I see people making a doily, adding straps to the top to tie around the neck and straps on each side at the bottom to tie behind the back. That gives you a summer top that can go over a tube top or something. I've also seen them sewn onto pillow cases to turn them into shams.

[sugasoul]

You can handstitch a doily onto a plain pillow to give it new life. You can lightly spray fabric adhesive on one side and carefully adhere it to a mirror and hang....the idea in my head sounds better than this probably reads.....also you can lay an assortment of doilys on any table and cover them with glass...like the dining room table or coffee table....or you could display them as artwork and have an assortment of them framed with a colorful backdrop....especially if they're an assortment of circular doilies against a fuschia backdrop ...that's hot...lol

[Mollycrafter]

I'm not sure if I can figure out how to post a picture so I'll post the link to a prayer pocket that my friend Gabrielle made. I believe the doily used was store-bought and she assembled the rest. I apologize if this doesn't come through.

http://us.a2.yahoofs.com/groups/g_15104125/572d/__sr_/f35e.jpg?grwvLyEBzZSBm3Ej

[yarnart]

You can add pretty beads to some of the outside edging and make Iced Tea Covers/Glass covers. I love these things...Keep all of the nasty insects out of your glass outside.

[Nan-Nan]

I've seen sm.-med. ones sewn on squares, then turned into quilts. Ral pretty when done on bright colors. Large ones swen to the middle of a quilt whith smaller ones of both sizes scattered around the edges are very pretty too. in the old days ladies used flat ones in sets of 3 (1 lg, 2 sm.) to put on the backs & arms of chairs & sofas. They were called anti-macassers(sp?) I have a lg. collection of bells & oil lamps. I like to display them with each one sitting on a doily sized to be just a little larger than the bottom of the article. They look so pretty on darker wood surfaces. I saw one lady sew med. sized round ones around the bottom of a round tablecloth. It made it hang so pretty & the effect was beautiful. You can make suncatchers by stretching them in a metal ring (used for macrame) or an inexpensive crochet hoop.

[bjc1050]

My mother and grandmother used to place them on the arms and backs of chairs and sofas to keep them from being soiled.

[Raquel]

One idea I saw this weekend was sewing them on top of a fabric table topper. . . The one I saw in a quilting shop had a doily stitched over the center circle.

 

The quilt for my bed has "doily" centers. I love it. The doily is a square in the center of the motif, surrounded by a triangle in fabric on each side, etc. Beautiful!

Raquel

[misssmaggie]

MuseGimm!!!

BELLA!!! The clothes are breath-taking!!! And to think...they could begin with a simple doily!!!

And ladies...all the suggestions are great! I am just starting to use thread...and...I think I am "hooked"!!! I really am loving it!!!

[Raquel]

This might make you cringe, but you could use a doily as a cake stencil! I've put a doily on a cool, unfrosted cake, sprinkled powdered sugar over it and then carefully removed it to create a lovely pattern... but maybe that is a blasphemous suggestion!

Raquel