Bring new life to doilies: Make a table runner that blends vintage and modern

Brighten up the dinner table with this colorful runner made from white yarn doilies. Purchase packages of doilies in different sizes at big-box stores or order them online. Some places may sell them in the kitchen section rather than with crafts, so it may take a bit of detective work to find them. With this craft, you'll be sewing the doilies together. This means you should use newer, thicker doilies, not the delicate lace ones passed down in the family. If you know how to crochet, you might make the doilies by hand.

The tassels in this tutorial are brightly colored, but you may use whatever colors you desire -- or none at all. If you like the classic look of lace, omit the tassels. For a little color but a more uniform look, stick to one tassel color, or choose two colors and either alternate or use one color per side.

Materials
- White yarn doilies of the following diameters: 4, 6 and 8 inches
- White crochet yarn
- Hand sewing needle, size 16, 14 or 13
- Scissors
- Cross-stitch thread: aqua, turquoise, yellow, orange, red-orange, pale pink
- Corrugated cardboard, 2-by-4 inches
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Instructions
1. Place a 6-inch doily (D1) flat on the work surface. Place a 4-inch doily (D2) at the southwest position next to D1.

2. Thread the hand needle with the white crochet yarn. Double knot the end. Sew together the edges of D1 and D2 where they meet, and knot in place. Cut off excess yarn.

3. Place a 4-inch doily (D3) at the northwest position next to D1. Thread the hand needle with the white crochet yarn. Double knot the end. Sew together the edges of D1 and D3 where they meet, and knot in place. Cut off excess yarn.

4. Place an 8-inch doily (D4) next to D1 on the right side. Sew in place.

5. Continue adding different-sized doilies until you have reached the length desired. Set aside.

6. Hold the cardboard horizontally. Wrap one color of thread around the height of the cardboard 20 times, overlapping. Cut off the thread. Run 4 inches of white yarn under the front group of wrapped thread. Bring it through and up so it's under the top of the wrapped thread. Bring the two yarn ends together and tie a knot at the top of the wrapped thread.

7. Slide the wrapped thread off the cardboard. Cut off 6 inches of fresh thread. Position it 1/2 inch down under the wrapped thread. Leave 2 inches on the left side and the rest on the right side. Tie a knot at the front of the wrapped thread.

8. Wrap the remaining thread a few times around and knot again. Cut off excess.

9. Cut through the bottom loop of wrapped thread and trim the ends.

10. Repeat steps 6 through 9 for as many tassels as desired in different colors.

11. Feed one end of the white yarn at the top of a tassel through the needle. Bring the yarn through a hole along the edge of the doily runner. Tie the yarn in a knot to hold the tassel in place. Repeat this step for all the tassels, placing them at different points along the runner's edges.