A pattern for decorating the corner of a plain cloth mat or handkerchief. See Triangles for other patterns.
Pattern:
Bobbins: 13 pairs (1 red pair, 1 yellow pair, 1 blue pair, 10 white pairs)
Style: Torchon
Stitches:
half stitch
cloth stitch and twist
cloth stitch
twist pair
plait
reef knot
Details:
cloth fan (yellow and blue)
half stitch diamond (red)
Torchon ground (grey)
rose ground (green)
8 legged spider (pink)
triangle shape, from corner
sewing lace onto fabric
Description:
Follow the links above for explanation of how to work the different parts of the lace. The pattern starts and ends with two lines of Torchon ground to simulate a footside.
The diagonal start is easier with false starting pins, which are provided. The pattern is made of two parts, with the pillow turned halfway through - see making a triangle shape, from corner. The start and the finish make a straight line. This is what is sewn onto the fabric.
The main interest in this pattern is a cheerful use of colour! The fan headsides are all cloth fans. They start off with two coloured pairs, yellow and blue. One is chosen to be the worker pair, which colours the fan. The other pair stays at the edge. Between the fans, the worker and edge pair swap over, which makes the fans alternate colours. The diamonds are also coloured, which is a lot trickier as they are half stitch. Only one thread of the worker pair is coloured, and that must be used at the worker thread (the one used in every stitch) which will involve twisting the end pair the right number of times at the end of each row. Because of the shape of the triangle, this thread enters at the start of the lace, and leaves it at the end, without entering any other part of the lace.
I haven't sewn on this example myself, but the photo below gives an idea of what it might look like.
© Jo Edkins 2016 - return to lace index