I have this box of doilies that my great grandmother made. Apparently I get some of my craftiness from her because there were a lot of them. I know that she also loved to sew. She passed away when I was a teenager, and the doilies have been sitting in a box in my mom’s garage for a while now. I knew they would be great for an upcycle project, but I wanted to do something with them that would honor her memory. I was brainstorming some homemade Christmas ornaments this year and came up with the perfect use for the doilies. Like the ornament that I made in honor of my Papa a couple years ago, I’m going to give these as gifts to family members that loved my great grandma to remember her every year at Christmas. Also make sure to take a look at all of my other homemade Christmas ornament tutorials and free felt Christmas ornament patterns.
Supplies needed:
- 3-inch embroidery hoop
- Felt
- grandma’s doily
- hot glue gun
- ribbon
Cut a piece of felt a couple inches larger than your embroidery hoop.
Trace a circle on another piece of felt with the inside of the hoop. Sorry about the color change in felt. I was working on multiple ornaments for the family at once. You want the felt to be all the same color for one ornament.
Loosen the screw at the top of the hoop and put your felt and doily in as shown below. You will have to loosen the screw almost all the way since the doilies and felt are thick. If needed, you can bend the prongs on the top slightly to make it fit too.
Tighten the top screw as much as you can and cut off most of the excess fabric.
You need to leave enough to fold under to the back.
Fold the excess fabric under and hot glue it to the hoop in the back. Try to keep the glue on the hoop so it doesn’t seep through the ornament in the front.
Hot glue the circle of felt that you cut earlier to back of the hoop. This just covers up raw edges and makes the back look prettier.
Now all that’s left to do is tie a ribbon around the top for hanging. Very easy, and I think they are so pretty! I hope my family members enjoy getting some homemade Christmas ornaments from me this year.
I think you will also like this ornament that I made from my grandpa’s old clothing.
Carole R Ressler
Friday 20th of December 2019
I loved these doily ornaments I came across on your web site. The adults in our family do not buy gifts, we make gifts. Food or crafts. These are perfect for them to keep the memory of our grandmother alive! I did use colored flannel instead of felt. Found it easier to work with.
Jessica @ Cutesy Crafts
Saturday 4th of January 2020
So glad you like them! That's a good idea to use flannel. It's probably thinner and easier to get in the hoop!
Maria
Wednesday 6th of November 2019
What a lovely ornament. Fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing.
Lisa // Cucicucicoo: Eco Sewing and Crafting
Monday 27th of November 2017
Oh my gosh, I LOVE this idea! I also have a lot of hand-me-down doilies from my husband's great aunt. I like using the smaller ones by appliqueing them on clothing or other things, but I never could figure out how to use these longer pieces like you have. This is a fantastic idea! Thank you, I will be trying this for sure! :) Lisa
Jessica @ Cutesy Crafts
Tuesday 28th of November 2017
Yay! So glad you are able to use this idea!
Karen
Friday 4th of December 2015
Great idea, I'm always looking for more ornament ideas using embroidery hoops. And I love doilies!
Jessica @ Cutesy Crafts
Saturday 5th of December 2015
Thanks Karen!
Donna
Monday 30th of November 2015
Lovely idea to use your grandmother's doilies to create permanent keepsakes.
Jessica @ Cutesy Crafts
Monday 30th of November 2015
Thanks Donna! :)