Recycle your old doilies – you’ll love this shabby chic

I have a pile of old beautiful crochet doilies at the back of a linen cupboard deep in the depths my house. They’re keeping the old memories together at the back of the cupboard.  I can’t part with them, but I also was struggling to think of a single thing to do with them now they seemed to clash with my modernising decorating style.
But, when you look at these simple ideas I think you will be inspired. In fact, if you look long enough you might even be tempted to get out a crochet hook or head to your local op-shops doily pile and see what you can find to make some of these beautiful homewares.

The Doily Table Runner (pictured above)

These pictures from Pinterest tell a beautiful story of how doilies can be used in an innovative and interesting way, sewn together into a shapely table runner.
a) select, wash and iron up to 20 co-ordinating doilies, pinning together into the best shape possible for your table.
b) Sew the edges with a sewing machine or by hand, being careful to shape the doilies together so they sit flat.

The Doily Bowl: perfect for holding little or pretty things on display

a) Mix PVA glue (clear drying) and a small amount of water in a dish.
b)Rub Vaseline onto a selection of different sized upturned bowls.

c) Cover the upturned bowls with a doily of your choice.

d) Paste the glue mixture over the doily and leave it to dry.

e) After a couple of hours you can gently remove the doily and by flipping it over, you have a dish to use for whatever you choose

Doily Cushions

Find yourself plan coloured cushions that match your home or room and create the perfect shabby chic finish using your old doilies.  Use square on square for symmetry or a variety of doilies for a more shabby look.

a) select your cushion and remove the cushion padding.

b) iron the doily and cushion cover and pin into place

c) sew the doily onto the cover

d) restuff your cushion and voila!

Doily Frames

A doily can make the most magnificent decoration, and be very inexpensive to setup.  In fact I think these might even sell well at the markets!

a) select your doily (you might even want to dye them in a variety of colours as the picture here)

b) select a frame suitable for the look you want to create

c) select a backing colour or finish (you could use coloured gift wrap, fabric, or even spray paint to get this right).

d) compile the frame with doilies, backing, glue and hang on the wall…

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