I was lucky enough to be born into a family that values hand made. My Grandmother was an excellent crocheter, and fortunately she passed this skill down to my Mum and I. I have always wanted to try my hand at crochet doilies. After completing my Hexagon Crochet Blanket, I was looking for a new crochet project. Working with crochet cotton is easy – it is just on a smaller scale. I invested in a small Crochet Hook Set
(love the Clover Amour Soft Touch series), borrowed some of my Nan’s vintage patterns, and bought some size 20 crochet cotton (available from Spotlight). The doiley above was a good project to practice on. I need to work more on my tension and to remember to wear my glasses. I think this could be the start of a new obsession.
I love my new crochet hooks (Clover 3675 Amour Steel Crochet Hook Set) – the built up handle make them easy to hold and they look so pretty in their pastel colours. I used a size 1.25 mm hook for this doiley.
I love vintage doiley patterns. My Nan had a large collection but you can probably find some patterns in thrift shops and garage sales. Pineapple Doilies (Leisure Arts 75013) (Leisure Arts Little Books)
has some lovely vintage patterns (published in 1999 but still available). I also love the Japanese Book, Crochet With Color: 25 Contemporary Projects for the Yarn Lover
(English translation) which has lots of modern and colourful crochet projects including coasters, pot holders, afghans and more.
To get started on crochet doileys I first made one using DMC Perle 8 Cotton and a size 2.00 crochet hook. You can find links to free doiley patterns over on my Crochet Love Pinterest page.
I am looking forward to making more doileys – it is the perfect project to do in front of the TV at night.
Whether you call them doileys, doilies or doyleys – they are a fun and portable crochet project. Have a try and you might just get hooked (pun intended 🙂 !
This makes me think of my mother too! She first learned to crochet, and although she also knitted and quilted, she often returned to crochet. I still have her book of patterns from the 1940-50’s! Pineapples are what she loved to make most of all. She didn’t really need a pattern most of the time. She would look at a sample and copy it. How I miss her–thanks for the wonderful memories today!
Thanks Lois – you are lucky to have your Mum’s patterns – she sounds like she was a most accomplished crocheter. My grandmother was like that and I have some of the doileys she made.
Would love to have the Dooley pattern written
Thank you