Document And Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Apr. 18, 2016
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	LDL
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		17,126,712
Entity Registrant Name	LYDALL INC /DE/
Entity Central Index Key	0000060977
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer