Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Billions of Bullions: A Look At a Vintage Doily

I thought I would share one of my favorite vintage doilies with you today. I did not make it and I do not have the pattern for it, nor do I know if there even is a pattern. A friend gave this doily to me many years ago. He said it was made by his grandmother, probably in the 50's, and he thought I would appreciate it (which I do!) It needs to be washed and blocked, but even in this state, I think it is beautiful.

It looks like it is made from size 30 thread, incorporating not only bullion stitches, but hairpin lace as well. It is about 11" across.
If anyone recognizes this pattern, I would love to hear from you. I have never seen it in any of my old books. 
Anyway, while I do not enjoy making bullion stitches, I certainly think they are lovely, and I cannot help but admire the talented lady who made this doily.
Okay, so maybe there are not quite a billion bullion stitches in this doily, but  there are a lot!
I count 25 bullion stitches at the center.
Some of the little motifs around the outer edge have 18  bullion stitches, but most have 19.  There are 15 of  these little motifs. Each one is about an inch across.
I love hairpin lace, too. But I have never tried it with thread, much less thread as fine as this. 
I can only imagine how many hours of work went into this beauty!

7 comments:

mary i said...

WOW!! That is so amazeing. I tried once and gave up. Hang on to that.Heck I would block it and Frame it. A true work of art.Thank you for sharing it with us.

byhooks4u said...

This is beautiful. I love it. I hope someone can tell you where to find the pattern..I would love to make this one..so I am on a mad hunt to find it also..Thanks so much for sharing this

Deborah Hamilton said...

Wow, that is fantastic. I have never seen hairpin lace in a doily. It took a lot of patience to crochet it. You surely have a treasure.

Gramma Rita said...

Such a beautiful doily...and all those bullion stitches, oh my! Whoever made it must have had a lot of patience! :D Very nice treasure you have, and thanks for sharing it with us. :)

Harpa J said...

This is so beautiful, and is such great condition too.

crochethuahua said...

Lovely! That was a lot of work with all those bullion stitches. I can't seem to get the hang of them. I do know how to do hairpin lace.

Wal said...

Ann, beautiful, that is fantastic! Hugs