Borrowings (Other Borrowings Narrative) (Details)															1 Months Ended						6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2012 Warehouse Promissory Note [Member] Promissory Note [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Warehouse Promissory Note [Member] Promissory Note [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2001 Warehouse Promissory Note [Member] Promissory Note [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2012 BES Euro Line [Member] Line of Credit [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2012 BES Euro Line [Member] Line of Credit [Member] EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2011 BES Euro Line [Member] Line of Credit [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2007 BES Euro Line [Member] Line of Credit [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2007 BES Euro Line [Member] Line of Credit [Member] EUR (€)	Apr. 30, 2012 Subsidiary, Libbey China [Member] RMB Loan Contract [Member] Construction Loans [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2012 Subsidiary, Libbey China [Member] RMB Loan Contract [Member] Construction Loans [Member] CNY	Nov. 30, 2011 Subsidiary, Libbey China [Member] RMB Loan Contract [Member] Construction Loans [Member] USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2011 Subsidiary, Libbey China [Member] RMB Loan Contract [Member] Construction Loans [Member] CNY	Sep. 30, 2011 Subsidiary, Libbey China [Member] RMB Loan Contract [Member] Construction Loans [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 Subsidiary, Libbey China [Member] RMB Loan Contract [Member] Construction Loans [Member] CNY	Jun. 30, 2012 Subsidiary, Libbey China [Member] RMB Loan Contract [Member] Construction Loans [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2012 Subsidiary, Libbey China [Member] RMB Loan Contract [Member] Construction Loans [Member] CNY	Dec. 31, 2011 Subsidiary, Libbey China [Member] RMB Loan Contract [Member] Construction Loans [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 23, 2006 Subsidiary, Libbey China [Member] RMB Loan Contract [Member] Construction Loans [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 23, 2006 Subsidiary, Libbey China [Member] RMB Loan Contract [Member] Construction Loans [Member] CNY	Jun. 30, 2012 Notes Payable [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2012 Notes Payable [Member] EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2011 Notes Payable [Member] USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total borrowings	$ 477,638,000		$ 397,617,000				$ 1,008,000	$ 1,111,000		$ 7,610,000	€ 6,100,000	$ 7,835,000									$ 19,020,000	120,000,000	$ 28,332,000			$ 0		$ 339,000
Debt instrument, face amount									2,700,000															39,600,000	250,000,000
Interest rate							6.00%		6.00%
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity													13,800,000	11,000,000													1,000,000
Line of credit facility, amount outstanding																										0
Line of credit facility, interest rate at period end										3.77%	3.77%															5.80%	5.80%
Debt instrument, term													7 years	7 years										8 years	8 years
Debt instrument, interest rate at period end																					6.35%	6.35%		5.51%	5.51%
Repayments of long-term debt															9,500,000	60,000,000	6,300,000	40,000,000	4,800,000	30,000,000
Debt instrument, periodic payment, principal																					9,500,000	60,000,000
Repayments of principal, due in 2012										3,500,000	2,800,000
Repayments of principal due in 2013										4,200,000	3,300,000
Cash on hand	$ 19,577,000	$ 32,818,000	$ 58,291,000	$ 44,309,000	$ 13,112,000	$ 76,258,000