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 Openwork or open-work is a term in art history, architecture and related fields for any technique that produces decoration by creating holes, piercings, or gaps that go right through a solid material such as metal, wood, stone, pottery, cloth, l ...

, which allows the surface of the underlying object to show through.

Etymology

Doiley was a 17th-century

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

draper, who made popular "a woolen stuff, 'at once cheap and genteel,' introduced for summer wear in the latter part of the 17th c." 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."

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).

Food service and etiquette

Doilies figure prominently in the custom of

finger bowl A finger is a limb of the body and a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of most of the Tetrapods, so also with humans and other primates. Most land vertebrates have five fingers ( Pentadactyly). Chambers ...

s, 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

crochet Crochet (; ) is a process of creating textiles by using a crochet hook to interlock loops of yarn, thread (yarn), thread, or strands of other materials. The name is derived from the French term ''crochet'', meaning 'hook'. Hooks can be made from ...

ed, tatted or knitted out of

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

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 uncredited. The designs could be circular or oval starting from the center and working outward, reminiscent of the

polar coordinates system In mathematics, the polar coordinate system is a two-dimensional coordinate system in which each point on a plane is determined by a distance from a reference point and an angle from a reference direction. The reference point (analogous to the ...

. Doilies, as well as other household items, may be made by crocheting rows on a grid pattern using a technique called

filet crochet Filet crochet is a type of crocheted fabric. This type of crocheted lace is gridlike because it uses only two crochet stitches: the chain stitch and the double crochet stitch (U.S. terminology; known in some other countries as ''chain stitch'' and ...

, similar to points on the

cartesian coordinate system A Cartesian coordinate system (, ) in a plane is a coordinate system that specifies each point uniquely by a pair of numerical coordinates, which are the signed distances to the point from two fixed perpendicular oriented lines, measured in t ...

. 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 Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...

or have raised designs (rose petals, popcorn, or ruffles) rather than being flat.

References

{{crochet Crochet Linens Serving and dining Embroidery Lace Domestic implements