Borrowings (Other Borrowings Narrative) (Details)																					12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended											12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Promissory Note USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Promissory Note USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2001 Promissory Note USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Libbey Glass New Senior Secured Notes Senior Notes USD ($)		May 18, 2012 Libbey Glass New Senior Secured Notes Senior Notes USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Libbey Glass New Senior Secured Notes Senior Notes USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Libbey Glass Old Senior Secured Notes Senior Notes USD ($)	Jun. 29, 2012 Libbey Glass Old Senior Secured Notes Senior Notes USD ($)		May 18, 2012 Libbey Glass Old Senior Secured Notes Senior Notes USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Libbey Glass Old Senior Secured Notes Senior Notes USD ($)	Mar. 25, 2011 Libbey Glass Old Senior Secured Notes Senior Notes USD ($)	Feb. 08, 2010 Libbey Glass Old Senior Secured Notes Senior Notes USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Libbey Glass and Libbey Europe ABL Facility Line of Credit USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Libbey Glass and Libbey Europe ABL Facility Line of Credit USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Libbey China RMB Loan Contract Construction Loans USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Libbey China RMB Loan Contract Construction Loans CNY	Dec. 31, 2011 Libbey China RMB Loan Contract Construction Loans USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Libbey China RMB Loan Contract Construction Loans CNY	Jan. 23, 2006 Libbey China RMB Loan Contract Construction Loans USD ($)	Jan. 23, 2006 Libbey China RMB Loan Contract Construction Loans CNY	Dec. 31, 2012 Libbey Portugal BES Euro Line Line of Credit USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Libbey Portugal BES Euro Line Line of Credit EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2011 Libbey Portugal BES Euro Line Line of Credit USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2007 Libbey Portugal BES Euro Line Line of Credit USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2007 Libbey Portugal BES Euro Line Line of Credit EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2012 Libbey Portugal AICEP Loan Loans Payable USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Libbey Portugal AICEP Loan Loans Payable EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2011 Libbey Portugal AICEP Loan Loans Payable USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Notes Payable USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Notes Payable EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2011 Notes Payable USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 U.S. Plans USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 U.S. Plans USD ($)	May 31, 2012 U.S. Plans New Senior Secured Notes USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Letter of Credit Libbey Glass and Libbey Europe ABL Facility USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Line of Credit Libbey Glass and Libbey Europe ABL Facility USD ($)	May 18, 2012 Line of Credit Libbey Glass and Libbey Europe ABL Facility USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Line of Credit Libbey Glass and Libbey Europe ABL Facility USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, face amount							$ 2,700,000			$ 450,000,000								$ 400,000,000							$ 39,700,000	250,000,000						$ 1,300,000	€ 1,000,000
Interest rate					6.00%			6.875%	[1]				10.00%	[1]																		0.00%	0.00%
Total borrowings	466,059,000	397,617,000			903,000	1,111,000		450,000,000			0	0				360,000,000			0	0	9,522,000	60,000,000	28,332,000	180,000,000			4,362,000	3,300,000	7,835,000			1,272,000		0	0		339,000
Notes redeemed, face amount													40,000,000				40,000,000
Notes repurchased, face amount															320,000,000
Employer contributions																																						92,804,000	21,980,000	79,700,000
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity																														14,500,000	11,000,000					1,000,000					30,000,000		100,000,000
Line of credit facility, amount outstanding																																									8,500,000
Line of credit facility, remaining borrowing capacity																																										68,600,000		63,800,000
Line of credit facility, interest rate at period end																											3.77%	3.77%							5.80%	5.80%
Debt instrument, term																									8 years	8 years				7 years	7 years
Debt instrument, interest rate at period end																					5.90%	5.90%			5.51%	5.51%
Repayments of long-term debt																					19,000,000	120,000,000	11,100,000	70,000,000
Debt instrument, periodic payment, principal																					9,500,000	60,000,000
Repayments of principal due in 2013	4,583,000																										4,400,000	3,300,000
Repayments of principal made in 2012																											3,700,000	2,800,000
Cash on hand	$ 67,208,000	$ 58,291,000	$ 76,258,000	$ 55,089,000

[1] See Interest Rate Agreements under “Senior Secured Notes” below and in note 13.