That's Crafty! - How To Make Fabric Doilies

Last month, I wrote about the necklace I made from fabric doilies. I ended up getting a request from Jennifer of One Girl Geek on making a tutorial for it. So here it is!


What you'll need:

• fabric (preferably cotton or cotton/blend)
• needle and thread
• some heavy paper or poster board
• various circular lids
• pencil or pen
• scissors
• straight pins (optional)

 Step One
Gather various sizes of circular lids (you can even use old cds) and trace the pattern on heavy paper or poster board. This will make the patterns last longer. I used old paper dividers for my patterns. You can make the patterns as big as you like but for smaller circles you don't want to go smaller than 2 3/4". Anything smaller will make it more difficult to assemble. Cut out the patterns.

Step Two
Lay the fabric on a flat surface and trace the patterns out with a pencil. You can also use a ball-point pen since the markings won't show, but don't use a marker since it will bleed into the fabric. Try to get the patterns as close as you can so you don't have lots of fabric remnants. The leftover fabric can be used for other projects or if you have a covered-button maker, you can use the scraps to make buttons for the middle of the doilies. You can make the doilies out of lace, tulle or any other lightweight fabric, but you'll have to stack the fabric on top of each other and pin the pattern to the fabric and cut around it. 

Step Three
Once you cut out the fabric, grab your needle and thread. As with any sewing project, you want your thread to match the fabric. It's also important that you have a really good medium sized knot. Anything smaller will break through the fabric as you are gathering. Also be careful with the needle. I have poked myself a few times and it's never fun. 
Your going to fold over a small piece of the fabric and do a running stitch. As you are doing this, you'll gather the top fabric together. Keep doing these two steps until you reached the starting point of the stitch.

Step Four
Once you reached the starting point of the stitch, make sure the gathering is tight. Once that is done, run the needle from one of the gathers to the center a few times just make sure it won't unravel. After knotting it two-three times, you have yourself a doily.

You can use them to make necklaces, or depending on the size, you can even use them to make pillow covers, coverlets or even as clothing. This is also a good way to up-cycle a favorite piece of clothing that is beyond repair. The possibilities are endless! 


If you do decided to make these doilies e-mail me pictures and I'll post them on the blog. I would love to see to what you craft out of them!