Basic Paper Doily Envelope Liner for Wedding Invitations

I have been selling 10 inch square paper doilies in my Etsy shop, Owl and Thistle, for a couple of years, mostly to brides who are DIY-ing the invitations. My current doily style had baskets in the corners. However, I now have a second style of 10 inch square paper doilies! So, I thought I would do a tutorial with that doily style. Here is how-to on making a simple paper doily envelope liner. Please click on the blue words to take you to the items!

The Basic Paper Doily Envelope Liner

Supplies needed-

10 inch doilies
a cutting tool (I used my fave vintage paper cutter purchased from Etsy)
a bone folder (for creasing paper)
card board
a type of adhesive (double stick tape, envelope glue)




The bone folder is the small tool on the top. My doilies always include two sheets of the cardboard I have used in this post as protective packaging. So, if you order my doilies, you get the cardboard that you can cut down to the size you need. You could also use a cereal box, but be careful not to transfer the ink to the doily when you are using the bone folder.

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     10 inch doilies can be used for an A7 invitation (5" x 7") or a 6" square invitation. Both sizes follow the same method so for illustrative purposes, I'm only showing the A7 size.

Step 1:
   Cut the cardboard to size for your template. For an A7 envelope, your template should be 5 and 1/4" by 7 and 1/4". For a six inch square, your template should be 6 and 1/4". It us fine if you cut your slightly smaller, just do not go any larger.

Step2:
   Place your doily pretty side down with your template centered on the doily.
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     Look for the embossing to see which is the correct face to place down.
Align your template on the doily to be centered. I like to check the patterns at the corner for alignment reference.

Doily is face down with template aligned.

Step 3:  
 Fold the bottom flap to the center, snugly. Then use your bone folder to press the folded edge down firmly. Your goal is to ensure the crease will stay, but not to tear the delicate doily. I started with the bottom flap to ensure that the envelope will be centered.

Fold in side flaps and firmly press the folded edge with the bone folder.

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     You can use the rounded handle end of a dinner knife in lieu of the bone folder.

Step 4:
   Unfold the side flaps and fold to the center, then fold the bottom flap up to meet the side flaps. This ensures that the side you write on is centered and that there is a pretty look on the back side of the envelope.

Fold side flaps to the center.

Add envelope glue to the solid parts on the side flaps of the doily and fold down top.

Fold the bottom back in place, which you can see looks better than the sides on top.

Press and hold the bottom flap until the glue holds.
{:~:} TIP- You can use a weight to hold it down while working on the next one. I like using small bottles of craft paint.

Step 5:
   Fold the top flap down to meet the bottom flap and press with the bone folder. Slide the template out carefully and add your real invitation. You can then either leave the flap unglued or use a dot of your envelope glue to seal the envelope!

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   Now that you have a completed envelope, try to slide your invitation inside the envelope and then to slide the envelope into the outer envelope.

Was the envelope too snug or too loose? You can adjust the template for either by trimming or adding tape to each edge to slightly enlarge it.

If you feel the doily is too delicate, you can start with a  10-inch square of velum on the inside of the doily (between the doily and the template) and follow the above steps. Just make sure you stick the velum to the doily in the adhesive step.


Step 7:
   All that is left is adding the name, slipping it into your outer envelope and addressing!

Now that everything works, cut a duplicate templates and invite those bridesmaids over to help fold the rest of those envelopes and start addressing them!

Did you discover a tip you would like to share on this project? Please add it in the comment section!