How to Make a Vintage Doily Table Runner
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Got a stack of vintage lace and crocheted doilies laying around, but you’re not sure how to style them? Why not put them to use and make them into a vintage doily table runner! Vintage crocheted doilies can bring that old-fashioned charm and hospitality to your home’s aesthetic. And using them to create a vintage table runner is hands down my favorite way to style vintage doilies in our farmhouse!!
Maybe you’re here because you inherited your Grandmother’s stash of vintage crocheted doilies? Or maybe you collect them yourself when you’re out thrifting and antiquing? Maybe you’re here because you stumbled upon THE YARDSALE of yardsales, and now you need to come up with a way to use all those pretty doilies. Ok, maybe that’s a tad dramatic. Regardless, this simple DIY is a great way to put those vintage doilies to use!
My grandmother on my dad’s side gave me her stash of antique and vintage doilies, and I am so here for all the vintage charm they bring to the farmhouse! I love styling them folded and stacked in a cabinet or on a shelf. But this season, I thought it would be fun to layer them down the length of our dining table as a makeshift vintage table runner for the holidays!
Creating a Vintage Doily Table Runner
There’s really no rules to this DIY. You kind of just have to play with the shapes and sizes of each doily until you like how the runner looks on your table. I started with the bigger doilies first. Then I added the smaller ones in and kept layering. I mixed lace doilies, embroidered doilies, and crocheted doilies. And I also mixed the shapes and sizes too. I think the variation in size, color, pattern, and texture really add to the overall look! Most of our home is pretty neutral, hence White and Woodgrain. So when I decorate, I pay extra attention to the patterns, textures, materials, etc. All these things add visual interest without having to add lots of color.
Once you have all your doilies arranged how you like, you have two options. Leave the doilies as they are and enjoy. Or sew them all together so that you truly have a one of a kind vintage doily table runner! I chose to leave my doilies as they are because I hope to add to my collection over time. So I will probably change the arrangement and the layout over time. This also allows me to style them differently whenever I like. Though sewing them together would make it easy to recreate this Christmas tablescape again year after year with very little fuss and effort.
Sources for Vintage Doilies, Brass Candlesticks, and Mercury Glass Ornament Garland
If you loved this look and want to re-create it in your home… here’s a few places you can look for similar items! I found a ton of vintage doilies on Etsy and Ebay. And I even found a few vintage inspired doilies over on Amazon. The mercury glass ornament garland in my photos is a DIY, but I found this similar ornament garland on Amazon that’s very similar in style to mine! For some of my favorite candle stick options, both old and new, check out this post where I shared over 30 vintage, and vintage-inspired brass taper candle holders!
What do you think about this idea? And would you sew your doily collection together to make a vintage table runner? I absolutely love the look of this vintage doily table runner in our dining room! The doilies bring so much vintage charm to our farmhouse. Just in time for all the holiday meals and gatherings coming up this season! For more Christmas decor inspo, head to this post for a tour of our Farmhouse at Christmastime! I hope this post brought a little inspiration to your scroll, and I hope it gave you a new idea for how to style your vintage doily collection!! Thanks for stopping by the blog today, and as always, thanks so much for following along…
