Dear LPG

Today I want to ask readers to cast their minds back to a time when well-decorated homes where more intricately laid out.

Do you remember the days when no well-clad dresser, tray, table, or dressing table would be seen without its doily?   First there were the flat ones, then the ones with the ruffles and I also remember the really elaborate ones with truly huge ruffles and stiffened shapes.  I know that Crochet is not the only way that they can be made, but I remember when quite young, that how to use a crochet hook was one of the fundamentals taught to young girls by responsible mothers, although I think that my youth came at a time when that practise was coming to an end. 

When I was young, in the 1960s it was common place to see older ladies sitting chatting and either knitting or crocheting as a pastime.  I have to admit that I struggled to get the hang of it and thought it a boring task, but it was usual to start by working on smaller pieces which took less time to make when compared to knitting.  Many were quite small and round and I have to admit to feeling a sense of achievement on completion.  I always thought that round shape much easier to achieve with a crochet hook than with knitting needles.

Then there was the whole business of stiffening them so that they kept their shape, which was one way of using sugar without getting fat. 

In our minimalist world the youngsters have little time for such decorations these days but, now that I am one of those ‘older ladies’ I have managed to grasp the essentials of the craft and I also now understand the satisfaction that can be derived from creating something so intricate.  It has to be said that a doily set still makes a good present and something to do with your hands while you are watching the telly.

UJ, Lewisham park

In order to jog the memories a little more, LPG has found a little information about where to start for anyone who wants to follow in UJ’s footsteps by making their own doily or stiffening some of those forgotten ones that are in the back of a draw …

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 And we have also found  a little information on their history…

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