I used doilies from the dollar bins and Mod Podge Stiffy in this unique doily bowl project! You can make one with any size doily. Scroll down to the bottom of the post to get a video and see how it’s done!

I’ll have to admit, I was a little afraid of Mod Podge Stiffy. There was the great yarn ball incident of 2010. But I also know something, which is that
I’m not the perfect crafter . . . and there’s plenty of user error “up in hur.” I decided I needed to give it another chance with a doily bowl.
And let me tell you friends, it’s not hard to use at all – and now I wanted to stiffen everything (tee hee)! Just take a peek at my doily bowl tutorial below and you’ll see how easy it is to use fabric stiffener.
You can stiffen all sorts of things with the same method. If you need a visual of how to make doily bowls, there’s also a video at the bottom!
Mod Podge Stiffy Doily Bowl
Gather These Supplies
- Doily, any size – I got mine from the $1 Michaels bins
- Mod Podge Stiffy
- Aluminum foil or plastic wrap (or both)
- Real bowl a little larger than the bowl size you want to make
- Small plastic container

Here are the bowls that I used. I figured that with the larger bowl I could make a doily bowl with no lip (the pink doily), and with the smaller bowl I could add the lip (the yellow doily). I wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, but that was my idea.

Next step was to cover the real bowls with aluminum foil – make sure you cover the whole thing so you don’t get an Stiffy on your bowls.

Then squeeze the Mod Podge Stiffy into your plastic bowl. Make sure there is enough to fully coat your doilies. You don’t need to go overboard.

This is the fun part! Add your doily to the Stiffy and smoosh it around – don’t you love getting your hands dirty? Take it out of the Stiffy and squeeze out the excess.

Spread your doily out on the bowl, making sure to center it. Wash your hands now.

I used plastic wrap to cover the cooking sheet that I placed the bowls on. You can use either aluminum foil or plastic wrap. The Mod Podge Stiffy won’t stick to it.

Here’s how I left them to dry. You can see that the yellow one overlaps the bowl I bit, so I laid it out to have a little lip. Let dry overnight. And then in the morning . . .

you’ll have real Stiffy bowls made from doilies! These were pretty rock hard and could even hold candy. I was thrilled with my doily bowls. What should I Stiffy next? I can’t wait to start my next project!
Doily Bowls

Learn how to stiffen crochet doilies using Mod Podge Stiffy - and turn them into bowls.
Materials
- Doily, any size
- Mod Podge Stiffy
- Aluminum foil or plastic wrap (or both)
Tools
- Bowl
- Small plastic container
- Cookie sheet
Instructions
- Cover a bowl with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Cover a cookie sheet at the same time.
- Squeeze the Mod Podge Stiffy into a plastic bowl. Make sure there is enough to fully coat the doilies.
- Add a doily to the Stiffy and push it around. Take it out of the Stiffy and squeeze out the excess.
- Spread the doily out on the bowl, making sure to center it. Wrap the doily around the sides of the bowl and press down.
- Place the bowls on the covered cookie sheet and place somewhere to dry overnight.
- Release the doily from the bowl to use.
Are you ready to see my video and learn how to make a doily bowl yourself? Click “PLAY” on the video in this post!
Paula
Sunday 28th of February 2021
You made it look easy enough that I can do it! I have a lot of doilies in all sizes, and am looking forward to a little experimentation with the larger ones. Thanks for making me actually want to do a craft that I can do and use.....
Kia
Friday 28th of March 2014
Thanks! This is just in time for spring. I was thinking of doing some mini baskets with treats for the kids, and this would work great.
katie
Friday 28th of March 2014
I've always wondered how to make these--thanks for the great tutorial! :)
Laura / Pet Scribbles
Thursday 27th of March 2014
Totally want to try this! And I love your humor, by the way! Is there anything this stuff can't make stiffy? ;)
Lorena
Wednesday 26th of March 2014
Wow I love it and I want it. Thank you I have to go to find some of that stuffy I just have regular one Xx