Borrowings (Interest Rate Swap Narrative) (Details) (USD $)					3 Months Ended						3 Months Ended				9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012 Subsidiary, Libbey Glass [Member] Senior Notes [Member] New Senior Secured Notes [Member]		Jun. 29, 2012 Subsidiary, Libbey Glass [Member] Senior Notes [Member] Old Senior Secured Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Fair Value Hedging [Member] Interest rate contracts [Member] Prior to May 15, 2015 [Member] Subsidiary, Libbey Glass [Member] Senior Notes [Member] New Senior Secured Notes [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Fair Value Hedging [Member] Old Rate Agreement [Member] Interest rate contracts [Member]	Apr. 18, 2012 Fair Value Hedging [Member] Old Rate Agreement [Member] Interest rate contracts [Member] Senior Notes [Member]	Apr. 17, 2012 Fair Value Hedging [Member] Old Rate Agreement [Member] Interest rate contracts [Member] Senior Notes [Member] Old Senior Secured Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Fair Value Hedging [Member] New Rate Agreement [Member] Interest rate contracts [Member] Senior Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Fair Value Hedging [Member] New Rate Agreement [Member] Interest rate contracts [Member] Senior Notes [Member] New Senior Secured Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Fair Value Hedging [Member] New Rate Agreement [Member] Interest rate contracts [Member] Prior to May 15, 2015 [Member] Senior Notes [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Fair Value Hedging [Member] Interest Expense [Member] Old Rate Agreement [Member] Interest rate contracts [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Designated as Hedging Instrument [Member] Fair Value Hedging [Member] Loss on Redemption of Debt [Member] Old Rate Agreement [Member] Interest rate contracts [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Designated as Hedging Instrument [Member] Fair Value Hedging [Member] Loss on Redemption of Debt [Member] Old Rate Agreement [Member] Interest rate contracts [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Designated as Hedging Instrument [Member] Fair Value Hedging [Member] Loss on Redemption of Debt [Member] Old Rate Agreement [Member] Interest rate contracts [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Designated as Hedging Instrument [Member] Fair Value Hedging [Member] Loss on Redemption of Debt [Member] Old Rate Agreement [Member] Interest rate contracts [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Designated as Hedging Instrument [Member] Fair Value Hedging [Member] Loss on Redemption of Debt [Member] Old Rate Agreement [Member] Interest rate contracts [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Derivative, notional amount						$ 0	$ 80,000,000		$ 45,000,000
Derivative, variable interest rate						7.79%		5.70%
Interest rate	6.875%	[1]	10.00%
Proceeds from termination of hedge					3,600,000
Gain (loss) on carrying value adjustment on debt related to interest rate swap											$ 100,000	$ 0	$ 3,502,000	$ 0	$ 3,502,000	$ 0
Minimum time period between redemptions				12 months
Portion of derivative callable by counterparty, %										10.00%
Call price of derivative, % of principal										103.00%

[1] See Interest Rate Agreements under “New Senior Secured Notes” below and in note 9.