The Complete Handbook of Doilies

Finally, a doily book that treats the subject with the seriousness it deserves. I run a linen rental service for weddings and this handbook has already paid for itself. The chapter on construction grades alone let me renegotiate my supplier contract because I now know exactly why some of my inventory was pilling. The care chemistry for starch and bleaching is spot on and practical.

I've been collecting and selling antique doilies for over twenty years, and I thought I knew most of what there was to know. The opening chapter on understanding the material culture and the make-or-buy economics of different eras was genuinely illuminating. It's not fluff. It's the kind of book you keep on your workbench, not your coffee table. A few of the restoration tips have already saved two pieces I thought were ruined.

I bought this for my event design business on a recommendation from a colleague. The framework for choosing between cotton, linen, and blends based on traffic and laundering is now the basis for my standard client meeting. It clearly explains the trade-offs between that cheap polyester option and the luxury flax. The troubleshooting chapter for yellowing and water stains is the most direct and useful I have ever read.

The content is good and very detailed, but I was surprised by how much of the book is oriented towards commercial and antique trade readers. As a serious hobbyist who crochets for personal use, I found parts of the opening chapter on industrial lace-making history a bit dense. I wanted more on hand-washing techniques and less on chemical fiber composition. But the maintenance chapter is solid, and the diagrams of different edge finishes are useful.

Three stars because it does what it says, but it doesn't quite live up to the promise of a complete handbook. The chapter on brands and suppliers is well-written but doesn't list many specific, actionable sources—it backs away into describing types of suppliers rather than naming names. I still had to do my own web research. The core chapters on material and maintenance are excellent, so it's worth it for that, but I expected a lot more directory-type data.

I'm a professional cleaner and I handle a fair amount of vintage linens. The section on identifying fiber content by burn test and the chemistry of oxidization stains was exactly what I needed. I gave it three stars because the writing is quite dry and it reads like a technical manual, but that's also why it's useful. The troubleshooting flowcharts are a bit basic for me, but the glossary is a great quick reference for when I'm speaking with clients.