My great-grandmother lived to be 93. And she loved to crochet. She made me dozens of doilies, collars, and hankies over the years. The doilies are so beautiful that I hated to see them packed away in a box in my closet. But I wasn’t about to scatter them over my furniture either. I decided to frame some, but the trick was finding square frames. I found these four mismatched frames at a thrift store that were the perfect sizes. A little paint, and voilà—a matching set.
Supplies
Tools
1. Remove artwork and glass from frame. Trace glass onto colored paper and cut out.
2. Place frame on drop cloth. Paint one coat of primer, let dry. Then paint two coats of paint, letting them dry for at least an hour in between. Let dry overnight.
3. Clean glass and insert into frame. Center doily in frame, place colored paper behind it, and close frame with its original cardboard backing.
Supplies & tools
brown paper bags or newsprint
nails
tape
hammer
1. Trace each frame onto brown paper bags and cut out. Tape the brown paper cutouts to the wall where you want to hang your frames.
2. Measure from the top and side of the frame to determine the location of the hook. Do the same on the coordinating piece of paper, and mark where the nail should go.
3. Hammer a nail into that spot, then pull the paper off the wall. Then hang your frame. You just save time and saved your walls from multiple holes!
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“Have nothing in your homes that you do not know to be useful and believe to be beautiful.” -William Morris (1834-96)
July 29, 2008 at 4:29 pm
ooh.. love how the frames turned out. Nice work!
December 21, 2008 at 9:27 pm
This is very cute~!
February 24, 2009 at 12:04 pm
i LOVE art that MEANS something! i get hives looking at cookie cutter pictures in target or furniture stores. :)
February 24, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Devon, I am so with you on that.
April 5, 2009 at 12:57 am
I always have such trouble hanging my pictures, and this awesome tidbit of information will help me so much! Thank you for your ingenuity!! :D
April 27, 2009 at 5:19 am
I have been meaning to do exactly the same thing with my Grans’ doilys! Now I can see how fabulous it looks, I’ll be right on to it.
May 7, 2009 at 2:42 pm
I have a bunch of doilies from my Nana too (she is 101 and still crocheting!) and have been wanting to do this for ages. So, you didn’t secure the doily to the backing at all? Just used the pressure of it against the glass? I enquired about professional framing once and he wanted to sew them to the backing first.
May 7, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Aww…my great-grandmother went by Nannie. Yep, I didn’t secure the doily to the backing at all. The pressure against the glass holds them. But, it depends on the depth of your frame.
May 11, 2009 at 7:42 am
Thank you for sharing this! My grandmother passed away last year, and I have a few of her doilies that she made. Doilies are all over the craft world, being sewn onto clothes and cut up and such…but I just haven’t been able to bring myself to alter her beautiful handiwork. This is a perfect way to display the doilies! Thank you, thank you!
beautifullyused.com » Vintage Art said,
May 28, 2009 at 1:05 am
[...] Craftynest’s showcase of her grandmother’s handmade doilies in some thrift store frames. Wouldn’t these look sweet in a dining room or a little girls [...]
August 7, 2009 at 4:30 am
Love this idea!
Another doily question – did you starch them first?
Thank you!
August 7, 2009 at 10:20 am
Kerry – Yes, my great grandmother starched all her doilies. I guess I should have mentioned that.
Enmarca tus tejidos al crochet | Decoración de Habitaciones said,
August 16, 2009 at 7:47 pm
[...] Craftynest. Comparte este [...]
February 4, 2010 at 3:36 pm
OH MY GOODNESS, i am in love!
You were brilliant to use your grandmothers doilies.
What a fun way to show everyone her talent!
gorgeous!
March 25, 2010 at 11:30 am
That’s the best picture hanging tip I have ever read. Thank you.
En Güzel Hobi » çerçeveler çok kıymetli olacak said,
April 22, 2010 at 5:41 am
[...] 12:41 pm on Nisan 22, 2010 http://www.craftynest.com/2008/07/framed-doilies/ selam aslında ben bunları eski antika dene bilir danteller için yapıla bilir diye [...]
En Güzel Hobi » Blog Archive » GÜZELLLL…. said,
May 2, 2010 at 5:38 am
[...] http://www.craftynest.com/2008/07/framed-doilies/ bügün bu hafta içinde 2.küpemin kırıldığını görünce çok canım sıkıldı bende [...]
“The Hats of Victoria” paper silhouettes - Craftynest said,
May 20, 2010 at 11:31 am
[...] 9. Hang your frames. For an easy way to get a perfect grid of frames the first try, check out my framed doilies post. [...]
με σήμα το σεμεν-άκι « Γαϊτανακι said,
June 11, 2010 at 12:28 am
[...] Αν μπείς στην ανάρτησή της εδώ θα δείς πως πήρε πινακάκια άσχετα, τα έβαψε ομοιόμορφα, έβαλε ένα μοντέρνο χρώμα για φόντο (και πολύ μου αρέσει το πράσινο!) και συγκέντρωσε γύρω αντικείμενα με ουδέτερο χρώμα για “δείξει”. Το φαντάζομαι και σε έντονο μπλέ φόντο και καρφωμένο στη βεράντα σε εξοχικά (που δεν έχουμε), με θέα το Αιγαίο (που δεν έχουμε)……σεμενάκι όμως ΕΧΟΥΜΕ! Το σκούρο background έχει αναδείξει όλο το κέντημα της γιαγιάς της η οποία, αν ήταν Ελληνίδα, φαντάζομαι θα σταβροκοπιότανε με το όλο σκηνικό. Φαντάζομαι τη γιαγιά μου περηφάνια…αλλά μη μου το πεί κι όλας οτι της αρέσει! Κάτι θα έβρισκε να διορθώσει! αχ… Ελληνίδα μάνα! [...]