Darling DIY Doily Dishes

While reading through Crochet Adorned by Linda Permann (don’t forget to enter to win a free copy!) a lacey bowl project caught my eye. The book has full instructions on how to crochet your own doily and a recipe for a sugar starch to make your flaccid doily hard as a rock. Always one to take the easy way out I thought to myself: now why couldn’t I take pre-existing doilies and some Fabric Stiffener and do the same thing? Better yet I could toss in some Fabric Paint and make white doilies any color that I wanted. 

I actually made two bowls. The first one using a vintage yellow doily with pink trim.

SUPPLIES
Doilies
Fabric Stiffener & Draping Liquid
Bowl
Foil or Plastic Wrap
Rubber Gloves

First I found the perfect bowl to use as my mold, which just so happened to be one of my salad bowls. Not wanting to get glue all over something I eat from I wrapped the bowl in foil. Plastic wrap would have worked as well. Next following the instructions on the bottle I put on my rubber gloves and completely saturated the doily in Aleene’s Fabric Stiffener & Draping Liquid. I then draped the doily over my bowl and allowed to dry overnight.

The next day I gently peeled my crocheted dish away from foil wrapped salad bowl. I was surprised by how stiff the bowl was. It was strong enough to hold all of my rings, and that is a lot of rings.

For the second bowl I snagged a white doily from a pillow, dyed it green and gave my vintage water gun collection a new home.

SUPPLIES
Doilies
Fabric Stiffener & Draping Liquid
Bowl
Rubber Gloves
Fabric Paint

First using a seam ripper I removed the doily from the pillow. Doilies are readily available at thrift stores and most craft stores carry them as well. Unlike the other bowl where I just saturated the doilie in Aleene’s Fabric Stiffner & Draping Liquid I also added a squirt of Tulip Soft Fabric Paint in to match the color of the walls in my game room. They have so many colors to choose from you could make your bowl match any room.

I then coated my doily until the fabric was saturated and the color was even. I used a large bowl as my mold and draped my doily over the bottom and allowed to dry overnight.

Doilies come in all shapes and sizes so you can make any size bowl you want. With the help of a little fabric paint you can also make them any color you want. Think of the possibilities: clocks, lamps and more oh my!

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Posted August 20, 2009 & filed under I Love to Create, Needle Arts.