Hi everyone! I'm Michelle from craftydill and I am so excited to be guest posting here while Sarah is focusing on her family!
I am the wife to a very kind, generous and patient man and the mother to two wonderful teenage boys. I love anything vintage and I love to thrift, craft and meet like-minded souls. On top of my day job, I also have a vintage Etsy shop called craftydill that I would love to turn into my full-time job someday.
And do I have a fun and easy project to share with you all...
How to make a doily bowl
First, I gathered my materials:
a crocheted or knitted doily ~ I crocheted my own- granny style!
fabric stiffener
saran wrap
bowl to use as a mold ~ I used a Pyrex bowl... The size is dependent on the size of your doily and I always lay the doily on the bottom to make sure the bowl will give the doily the shape and depth I want
clean margarine bowl
water
plastic grocery sack
Next, I wrapped the bottom of the Pyrex bowl with saran wrap, placed it on a plastic grocery sack to capture drips and runs and then put stiffener into the butter bowl. I usually add a little water to the stiffener- I don't like my doilies to be crunchy! :)
Then, I dunked my doily in the stiffener, making sure to fully saturate it and squeezed the excess out as I pulled the doily out of the butter bowl [don't wring- just squeeze]. Now I'm ready to mold my doily over the Pyrex bowl and let it dry.
I usually let the doily dry overnight, sometimes giving it a re-shape part way through. I have also been known to apply a second light coat of stiffener with a foam brush, but I always take care so as not to disturb the yarn fibers too much, which can make the bowl look hairy.
Once dried, I peel the saran wrap off the Pyrex bowl and then peel the wrap from the inside of the doily bowl. And voila! I now have a cute and preppy doily bowl!
Fill the bowl with just about anything... fruit, fabric scraps, balls of yarn or use as a general catch-all. I put vintage thread spools in mine...
Oh, and note to self...unless you want the colors to bleed causing a tie-dyed effect, don't stitch hot pink Sugar 'n Cream next to white and then get it wet. Not sure if it was just that the yarn isn't color fast or if it's the stiffener that caused the bleeding, but, it is what it is :)
I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial as much as I've enjoyed being here! And feel free to visit me anytime!
