A Doily DIY

Anyone else have a bit of a doily obsession? Since last year, I've been picking them up at yard sales and estate sales. Just this past month, we even found some for cheap at Brimfield Flea Market! To be completely honest, I haven't spent more than $2 per doily. If you live in an area where yard sales occur often, you'll easily find them for a good price.

For the last few years, I've been finding spots around our home for my great grandmother's doilies. The ones she made are my absolute favorites. The time and careful detail that goes into creating them amazes me. I wanted to find a special way to display my collection. After some Pinterest searching, I found some inspo and gave it a twist to make it my own. (Just search "doily hanging art" on Pinterest and you'll be blown away too.) There are many versions of this project. This DIY was very easy. It took me about 4 hours total (and was completed over two days, but could easily be done in one day). I decided not to cut the doilies, but this is up to you. For obvious reasons, cutting my great grandma's work felt like a big no-no. And cutting the doilies I had no personal connection to also felt wrong. The extra yarn hanging out of the hoops did not bother  me...in fact I like the look it creates. However, if you would like to cut them, just make sure the doilies are very taut and tight once in the hoop. Otherwise, they will get ruined/fall apart. 

For this project, here's what you'll need: -Round doilies (as many as you want. I recommend at least 7 in mixed sizes. I have 10 total in mine... And may possibly add more on in the future.) -Embroidery hoops. You'll need a mix of sizes depending on your doilie sizes. -A long branch or stick. (I used one my husband has been drying out for a few months.) -Twine. -Beige or white thread. -Scissors. -Glue gun and hot glue sticks. -Nails and hammer for hanging when completed. First I went to my local craft store and picked up a ton of embroidery hoops. I wasn't sure exactly what sizes I would need, so I bought a bunch and planned to return the ones that were unused. 

At most craft stores, you can purchase the hoops individually or in sets. The sets were a better deal at my store. Next I layed out my doilies and hoops and matched them by size. I only used round doilies for this project, but feel free to put your own twist on this! You don't need to use round ones only. The excess fabric coming out gives it a rustic, handcrafted look. After playing matchmaker to the doilies/hoop combos, I was ready to put the doilies into the hoops. This took the longest amount of time. Make sure your doilies are secure once in the hoops. You don't want them slipping or falling out. Our Singer sewing machine came with some old thread that had just been sitting around. I used that to tie the doilies into place (not necessary, but does give some extra reinforcement).

Finally, I arranged the hoops in the order that I would want them on the wall. This organizing is the fun part! I tied the hoops together with the beige thread. 

After this, I took a break and continued on day 2. Thanks to my sweet husband for helping me with this next part. Hammering things to walls in NOT my forte. He used a wall hook that holds up to 30 pounds and nailed it up high for me. No, the branch and doilies together are definitely not 30 pounds. They are much lighter than that. But this heavy duty hook just happened to be the one we had available. And I figured better safe than sorry.

I tied twine in three places on the branch and then tied those pieces to three of the embroidery hoops.  Once everything was up on the wall, my technical difficulties began. First, the hoops were not sitting how I planned for them to. They were leaning forward. I wasted a lot of time (but did get a great arm work out), trying to tie them in place with my beige thread. 

Finally, I realized this was not working and went for my hot glue gun instead. (Note: if I'd done this right away, I may have saved myself about 45 minutes. Hope that helps you!)  Once the glue gun was hot, I put small dabs of glue on the wood of the hoops. I glued where I wanted the hoops to stay in place. Since the hoops are light and made of bamboo, they work very well with hot glue gun glue. The glue dries FAST so once you have it on the hoop, connect it to the other hoop you'd like it to touch right away. 

Just under my thumb and between the touching hoops is where I put the small dab of hot glue.

And yes... That is it!  This wall was needing something and I think this piece works perfectly here. 

The twinkle lights around the chippy window add a lovely ambiance!

If you have any questions taking this on, don't hesitate to reach out!