Love That Crochet Doily – 5 Patterns

I guess this might be an age-related love affair as I gave no thought to the beauty of doilies when I was younger, but I am now quite enamored with them and have crocheted quite a few.  I have even given them as wedding shower and housewarming gifts.  Because I so appreciate the effort that goes into crocheting a delicate and often intricate design, I have even been known to purchase doilies made by others – but not those crocheted in the third world!

It took me quite a while to attempt thread work.  My friend Donna Jo is entirely responsible for my success with thread.  She pointed me to a baby sweater pattern made with #10 thread using a G hook.  It worked up quickly and really got me comfortable with using thread.  From there, I was more confident to move to ‘real’ thread work, my first doily.

I have now crocheted quite a few doilies!  I especially enjoy making them in the summer when it’s just too hot to hold a yarn project in my lap.  I’m not one who can sit at a table and crochet. I have to hold the work in my lap – and summer, even in air conditioning, just gets too hot and clammy with much yarn in my lap.  It’s a natural thing for me to switch to thread in the summer.  While I have yet to attempt clothing crocheted with thread, I use the summer to create thread-crocheted gifts using #10 or #3 yarn.  Smaller than #10 is too hard for me to see – althought I will sometimes combine #20 or #30 with a strand of #10.  Makes for some nice color variations.

Since doilies don’t have to ‘fit’ anything in most cases, I’m not careful with gauge.  So long as I know I have enough thread on hand to complete the project, I usually ignore gauge and often use a larger hook, especially for a very intricate design.  Makes it easier for me to ‘see’ the pattern and makes the work go lots faster with that larger hook!

Looking for more Doily Crochet patterns to make? Check these out on Etsy.

This is my favorite doily that I’ve actually completed on my own.  I was particularly excited about making this doily as I’m extremely fond of variegated yarns and threads AND I owned this exact thread.  This seemed like a natural for me.  One problem?  The design is worked in two pieces from the center – meaning one must crochet two things that match.  I HATE having to do that.  So, you won’t see me making a pair of socks!  This did work out for me, however.  I have made several of these and they look EXACTLY like the picture.

http://www.io.com/~cortese/crafts/pistilli_pineapple.html

I’ve made this one of Cylinda Matthews’ design:

http://www.crochetmemories.com/archive/february5.html

I’ve also made this beauty:

http://promotions.drgnetwork.com/newsletters/talkingcrochet/pages/TCNL1907_patt.html

Here’s another of my favorites.  This is Sheila’s picture, but mine looks identical and my picture has disappeared!  Sheila has a number of goodies on her site.

http://hometown.aol.com/sheilaschnauzies/PondLily1.html

I’ve also made this pretty thing;

http://www.ljccrochetdesigns.com/StarfishPinappleDoily.html

There are a gazillion free doily patterns online, not to mention the thousands that are in print.  There’s also a great free resource at www.guttenberg.org which has some remarkable d’oyley (the original spelling apparently) patterns.

So, plan ahead for some holiday gifts and start now to crochet some thread confections.  The advantage of crocheting doilies for gifts is that they are so easy and simple to mail.  Just pop one into an envelope and slap on a stamp or two.  What could be easier or cheaper?

There are also a lot of garment patterns using thread.  Look at the designs at www.garnstudio.com for the ‘drops’ patterns and at other free pattern sites and blogs.  There is a wealth of goodies out there for us.  And this doesn’t even include the filet patterns you can find online and in print.  So, pick up your hook and thread and getting stitching!