Another type of headside.
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Bobbins: 11 pairs (10 pairs one colour, 1 pair a different colour)
Style: Torchon
Stitches:
twist pair
half stitch
cloth stitch and twist
Details:
Torchon ground (grey)
scallop headside (blue)
twisted footside (grey)
Description: This is a similar pattern to the fans headside but with a different headside. When hanging the bobbins, the two pairs on the left are different colours. The left pair should be the same as the other bobbins.
Start working the lace from the top right corner, twisted footside and Torchon ground, following the diagonal lines in the pattern, similar to the fans pattern.
A scallop has a worker pair the same as a fan, but this pair travels in a different direction. The first row has 4 stitches and back, then each double row becomes shorter, until in the middle, a row has just two stitches. Then the worker pair works through all 5 passives, and back again. Then the rows start short, starting with two stitches , until you get to 4 stitches at the double row at the end of the scallop.
In this pattern, the worker pair are a different colour, which helps you see what is happening. The first and last row have pins for each stitch, while there are no pins in the rest of the scallop, except at start and end of each row. (The reason for this is that there isn't enough room!) So the first and last row are half stitch, pin, half stitch, while the other stitches are cloth stitch and twist. It is a useful fact to learn that a cloth stitch and twist is the same as 2 half stitches on top of each other.
A common mistake in scallops is to make the first row 5 stitches rather than 4. The right passive pair is only used in a single stitch, in the middle of the scallop. Click here to see how to work a scallop headside, which includes an animation, that you can repeat, or step through.Scallops need quite careful tightening, as they use cloth stitch and twist, which is harder to tighten than other stitches, because of two twists per pair, per stitch.
Close up of the lace, so you can see the working in more detail
Since this pattern is similar to the fan headside pattern, if you like, you can make the ground Torchon double ground instead of Torchon ground. This gives a different effect, but the pattern is the same.
Click here for more on how to make lace.
© Jo Edkins 2018 - return to lace index