This is an attempt to create butterflies by colouring half fans.
Pattern:
Bobbins: 12 pairs (2 pale blue, 10 green)
Style: Torchon
Stitches:
half stitch
cloth stitch
cloth stitch and twist
twist pair
Details:
cloth diamond (cyan)
scallop headside (yellow and red)
half stitch fan headside (blue and red)
cloth fan headside (blue)
rose ground (green)
twisted footside (grey and red)
Description:
Follow the links above for explanation of how to work the different parts of the lace. This pattern starts at a point, which is two diagonals, so each starting pin has one pair. False pins are marked.
This is a conventional Torchon pattern apart from the butterflies themselves. These are made from fans, but the fans are split into two. Half is half stitch, and the other half is cloth stitch. This is simple to do - just change the type of stitch half way through the fan. To highlight the butterflies, the cloth stitch part is coloured with pale blue workers. This pale blue pair has to travel through the half stitch fans and the scallops as well. The pair stays at the edge. This is easy for the scallops, since one pair tends to stay at the edge anyway (make sure it's the correct pair!) For the half stitch part of the fans, the stitch at the edge should be a cloth stitch and twist rather than a half stitch, both before and after the edge pin.
I have made the passive of the twisted footside to be the same colour as the butterflies. This was to frame the lace, and to balance the edge headside coloured pair. You can make it a different colour, or leave it the same colour as background, as you please. The background is green to represent leaves. You can change that too, especially as the ground is rose ground! But I wanted a dull background colour to highlight the butterfly. The butterfly is a (male) common blue, by the way!
© Jo Edkins 2016 - return to lace index