Upcycled Fabric and Vintage Doily Dress

May 24, 2023 by Anne Weaver Leave a Comment

Vintage doilies are so pretty, but not particularly useful. People don’t really decorate with doilies any more. Which means that you can usually find them at thrift stores and estate sales for not that much money. Whenever I see them there I get sad thinking about how much work went into that doily, only to have it sitting at a thrift store. Heather from Heather Handmade created a gorgeous dress out of her late grandmother’s doilies plus some thrifted fabric. Click here to see her thrifted fabric and vintage doily dress. You’ll be amazed!

And if you want to make a dress like this of your own, her post includes how she made the dress. When you’re working with thrifted fabric and vintage doilies, every project will be different based on the size/shape of the pieces you’re working with. But her post includes detailed information about her process, as well as tips and tricks you can use when making your own doily dress.

If you’re looking for other cool things you can make from vintage doilies, here are some more ideas:

Make a beautiful tablerunner from your vintage doilies. Sadie Seasongoods has a tutorial showing how. The shapes and colors of the doilies are so pretty as a tablerunner! You can make your tablerunner as large or small as you like, depending on the number of doilies you have to work with.

Turn them into wall art! Mod Podge Rocks shows how you can create wall art with that pairs a vintage doily with bright colors and patterned paper. It’s a fun mix of vintage and modern that would be at home in an eclectic décor.

These doily sachets are a great way to use doilies that are damaged. The sachets only use small pieces of a doily so even those doilies that are too damaged for other repurposing projects could be used to make these sachets. Go to NordicCrafter for the tutorial.

[photo credit: Heather Handmade]

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Have you read?

13 Christmas Kitchen Accessories Sewing Tutorials

Christmas is one of those holidays that you just can decorate too much for. There’s no limit to the amount of holiday cheer you can bring into you home! There’s no such thing as too many Christmas decorations. You can bring Christmas décor into any room of the house – including the kitchen! Which is kind of fitting given how many Christmas activities and gifts are made in the kitchen. We’ve rounded up 13 Christmas kitchen accessories you can sew for your home or to give as gifts.

The list includes holiday themed hot pads, potholders ,aprons, and more that you can sew and decorate your kitchen all season long. Most are things you can make in an evening or less. These would also make wonderful hostess gifts for any holiday parties or gatherings you’re attending. Read on for the kitchen sewing ideas!