If you’ve ever wondered what can you use an old stash of doilies for? What about creating a cute cottage piece of furniture and embellishing a chair with them? While in the past, they might have screamed “grandma”, there is something about a handmade, cottagecore look that a doily can bring , especially when decorating in a little more… cottagey. While vintage doilies are handmade from an old world skill called “tatting” which is a method of lace making, newer doilies from the craft or fabric store are machine made and can be more easily found and made with heavier, more durable materials. If you have ever watched anyone tat lace, it’s not only impressive but amazing. It’s certainly a skill that is being lost due to machine innovation.
You can see in the image above how heavy the wood chair looks. The chair has some great “bones” so painting it and giving it a make over will make it even more updated.
First Prep and Paint the Chair
I wanted pretty, eclectic looking chair and and I knew I wanted light.. and maybe stripes, and I wanted to add a more delicate, handmade look. That’s when I knew I wanted to add some lace doilies. I mixed new and old doilies in my chair makeover. I had found not only several vintage ones, but new ones I had found in a bin at the craft store. The first step was to remove the cushion and then painting the frame of the chair. You can see a tutorial here on how to paint a chair frame.
Place and Sew Doilies onto the Fabric
Once the chair was painted, cut the fabric to the size needed and machine sew or hand stitch the doilies onto the fabric first. You can try hand sewing them on after, but they may not be as secure. Though it is a good option if you ever want to remove them at a future date, or if you want to add them to piece of furniture without reupholstering (you’ll need a curved needle for that). You may want to play with placement first before sewing. If you’re worried about wear and tear, place the doilies in spots where they are less likely to make direct contact with people sitting and more off to the sides or on a chair with upholstered arms.
Reupholster the Chair with the New Fabric
I then reupholstered the cushions and seat with a neutral, striped fabric. The chair seat had two parts and I ended up covering over both of them. by wrapping them. To finish off the top, I hot glued a woven trim to clean up the edges where the fabric meets the wood.It’s now a serene blue with tan striped ticking. The lace trim on the bottom was glued on where the edges meet add a pretty touch and to cover any rough edges .
I love how the vintage doilies in two difference sizes really play against each other and add interest with the striped fabric. It really gives it a sweet cottage feel with the light blue chair frame.
Reupholstering the chair, painting it and stitching doilies onto the fabric a great furniture makeover and easy to make it look like a new piece of furniture!
Jen
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