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Doily - Wikipedia

A doily is a decorative mat typically made of paper or fabric that is used to protect surfaces or arrange flowers. Doilies are characterized by openwork designs and are often intricately crocheted, knitted, or tatted by hand. Doilies traditionally served practical purposes but are now primarily used for decoration.

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77 views11 pages

Doily - Wikipedia

A doily is a decorative mat typically made of paper or fabric that is used to protect surfaces or arrange flowers. Doilies are characterized by openwork designs and are often intricately crocheted, knitted, or tatted by hand. Doilies traditionally served practical purposes but are now primarily used for decoration.

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Nani
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Doily

A doily (also doiley, doilie, doyly, doyley) is


an ornamental mat, typically made of
paper or fabric, and variously used for
protecting surfaces or binding flowers, in
food service presentation, or as a head
covering or clothing ornamentation. It is
characterized by openwork, which allows
the surface of the underlying object to
show through.
Representation of ears of ripe wheat is especially
appropriate for a table linen.

Eliza A. Jordson, Brooklyn L.I. 1848. Algae or


seaweed specimen, pasted on colored construction
paper, framed by paper lace doilies. Brooklyn Museum
A crocheted doily in use

Queen Elizabeth II holds a doily-wrapped posy.

Macarons on a paper doily


Etymology
Doiley was a 17th-century London
draper,[1] who made popular "a woolen
stuff, 'at once cheap and genteel,'
introduced for summer wear in the latter
part of the 17th c."[2][3] At the time, it was
used as an adjective, as in "doily stuffs" or
"doily suit." Later, usage shifted to refer to
"a small ornamental napkin used at
dessert," known as a "doily-napkin."[2]

Usage

Furniture protection …
In addition to their decorative function
doilies have the practical role of protecting
fine-wood furniture from the scratches
caused by crockery or decorative objects
such as nativity scenes, or from spilled tea
when used on tea trays or with cups and
saucers. When used to protect the backs
and arms of chairs, they are serving as
antimacassars.

Flower arrangement …

Doilies are traditionally used to bind the


stems in posies (formal flower
arrangements called tussie-mussies in the
Victorian Era).[4]
Food service and etiquette …

Doilies figure prominently in the custom of


finger bowls, once common in formal,
multi-course dinners. The linen doily
(never paper) separates the dessert plate
from the finger bowl. The custom requires
that both doily and finger bowl are
removed to the upper left of the place
setting before briefly dipping fingertips
into the water and drying them on the
napkin. Failing to move both together is a
faux pas.

Disposable paper doilies "were designed


as a cheaper but respectable alternative to
crocheted linen doilies" and are commonly
used to decorate plates, placed under the
food for ornamentation.

Techniques
They are crocheted, tatted or knitted out of
cotton or linen thread. Many patterns for
crocheting or knitting doilies were
published by thread manufacturers in the
first part of the 20th century. The
designers were often anonymous. The
designs could be circular or oval starting
from the center and working outward,
reminiscent of the Polar coordinates
system. Doilies, as well as other
household items, may be made by
crocheting rows on a grid pattern using a
technique called filet crochet, similar to
points on the Cartesian coordinate
system.

Contemporary designers continue to make


patterns for modern hand craft
enthusiasts. Although it may to some
extent interfere with the original use, some
doilies involve embroidery or have raised
designs (rose petals, popcorn, or ruffles)
rather than being flat.

See also
Antimacassar
Armenian needlelace
Koniaków Lace
Lace
Medallion knitting
Mountmellick embroidery
Openwork
Tenerife Lace
Placemat

References

Wikimedia Commons has media


related to Doilies.
1. "Doily" . Merriam-Webster Online
Dictionary. 2009.
2. "Doily, adj. and n." Oxford University
Press.
3. Harper, Douglas. "doily" . Online
Etymology Dictionary.
4. Felbinger, Elaine (May–June 2005).
"Tussie Mussies" . SUBROSA: The
Huntington Rose and Perennial
Gardens Newsletter.
huntingtonbotanical.org/ (42).
Retrieved 26 January 2014.

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