Working in Circles - Part 2, Crochet

For flat circular items, crochet has always seemed easier to me than knitting--especially for items like doilies. For one thing, you have much easier graphic instructions available if you are working from a chart like the ones found in the Ondori crochet pattern books mentioned in this post from last year. You don't have to read through dense instructional language when you are following a chart.

I haven't crocheted doilies in years, and could only find one stained example of my own to show, but two fine Etsy crochet artists have given me permission to feature their much more brilliant work in this post.

To start, here is a doily that I worked from an Ondori chart.

There are three things that I remember about making doilies like this: they are fun to do, you have to pay attention, and they take a lot of time! It is truly amazing to me that so many excellent thread artists sell their work for prices which do not come close to compensating them for their talent and their time.

Let's move on to the work of some professional thread artists whose work is stunning.

Irish Rose Creations Store

Irish Rose Creations Blog

Romantic Shabby Peach Rosebuds Lace Doily

This beautiful doily is crocheted of cotton thread in white, minty green, and peach. It is only one of many gorgeous doilies in the Irish Rose store where you can also find wonderful crocheted afghans. Check out her pretty blog, too--Irish Rose has a great playlist of music that fits nostalgically with her delicate doilies.

Crochet by MSA Store

Antique Rose Victorian Crochet Lace Thread Art Doily

You might say that this is not strictly a circle, but it was close enough and I love the item so much that I could not resist featuring it. The maker, Marianne of Crochet by MSA, was voted thread artist of the month in January by the Etsy Thread Artists Team. You can read the post and see more of her incredible work at the Etsy Thread Artists Blog.

Thank you to these two talented women for letting me feature their work.

In the next post, we'll see more ways to dress up some circles.