Vintage Doily Table Runner

Let me start off by saying that Pinterest is amazing.  You can get ideas for just about anything, organize your ideas into categories and inspiration boards, and you can learn a lot about your Pinterest friends by looking at their pins.  That's how I decided to make this table runner.


Our niece got married at the end of July and she was using Pinterest to get ideas for her wedding decor.  She pinned some really lovely things and a theme I noticed was doilies.  So, being the creative gift-giver I am, I decided to make her something inspired from Pinterest.

First, I had to find crocheted doilies.  I went to about 5 different antique shops looking for doilies...My criteria was that they needed to be a mix of white and tea-stained, stain and damage free, varied in size, and not too expensive.  I ended up with about 20 doilies for between $1.50 - $12 each.

Next, I cleared my dining room table as my staging area to figure out how I wanted to doilies to lay.  I knew I didn't want a straight line, so I attempted to artistically place the doilies to look like a table runner.  Then, with my sewing kit that I got as a gift for college almost 10 years ago, I took some beige or white string and started stitching the doilies together at the edges.

I didn't use any specific stitch or method, I just tried to make the stitches as invisible as possible.  If you noticed by my "sewing kit", sewing isn't something I know a lot about or do very often...I just wanted the doilies to stick together.  Occasionally I used pins to keep the doilies from moving while I was stitching others together.

I was very proud of my novice sewing skills when I was finished.  It actually came out pretty well!

Our niece was thrilled with her gift and I hope she enjoys using it in her new home with her husband.  I'll have to make one of these for myself someday!




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