This starts a series of tallies patterns. This features the small blocks you sometimes find in the nets of lace such as Bucks Point (see pattern 576). However, for people who don't know Bucks Point, here is a version in Torchon.
The complete series is pattern 577 - small square tallies, pattern 578 - small wide petal tallies by themselves, pattern 579 - joined small wide petal tallies, pattern 580 - multiple long thin tallies.
Pattern:
Bobbins: 14 pairs
Style: Torchon
Size: 5.5 inches long
Stitches:
half stitch
cloth stitch and twist
tally (red)
Details:
Torchon ground
twisted footside
Description:
Follow the links above for explanation of how to work the different parts of the lace.
This is deliberately a simple pattern, to practise tallies. Often tallies are part of a more complicated pattern, so I wanted something very simple, with lots of tallies but nothing else! These are quite simple tallies to start on, if you want to learn the technique, which, I admit, is tricky.
There are general comments which apply to all tallies. They are made with four bobbins (not pairs!) and these behave differently. There are the two outer bobbins, which guide the width of the bobbins. There is the worker bobbin, which makes the rows. And there is the other one, which doesn't do much! (But needs tightning.) I define a "row" as follows - take the worker bobbin to one of the outer bobbins, then across to the other, then back to its original position. Click here for a description of this - it is quite different to any other lace stitch. However, it isn't hard. That isn't the problem - tightening is the problem! If you over-tighten the worker bobbin, the whole tally is ruined. You can't do anything about it. You have to undo the whole thing and start again (a good reason to start learning tallies on these short tallies!) If you don't tighten enough, the tally is out of shape and messy.
Start the tally by working down to (and including) the two pairs at the start of the tally. The tally itself has no pins at all! It's a good idea to work the pins at the edge of the tally as well, because when you've finished the tally, you'll want to do the bottom pins right away, and not have to do extra lace elsewhere.
I found the best technique was to do the first row, and tighten everything to make sure there is no loops or sagging above the tally (you can't ruin it at this stage). Then pull the two outer bobbins apart. Now do the second row, and start proper tally tightening. Pull the outer bobbins apart to create the right width. IF the worker bobbin has a loop on the thread, then pull it gently to get rid of the loop. Don't pull it too much! That will ruin the tally. You may not have to pull it at all. Tighten the other one. This one is safe - you can't ruin the tally by tightening it. But don't get the worker and other bobbin mixed up! Now do the next row, tighten again like this, and so on, until the tally is complete.
The tally is still insecure. Start thinking of the bobbins as pairs again. The pair that contains the tally worker will be twisted. Carefully use it to work the relevant stitch and pin below the tally. Twist the other pair and do the same. If the tally is off-centre, find which two bobbins were the outer bobbins of the tally, and gently tug them to get the tally in the right place. Carry on doing stitches. The more stitches, the safer the tally is.
Another problem was that the tallies have to be identical in length. I thought that 8 rows were about the right amount, but I may not always have kept the count right.
Looking at the enlarged photo, you can see that I haven't always got it right. The tallies seem to get narrower from start to finish. Some are OK! (We will ignore the Torchon ground stitch which is missing its twist...)
Close up of the lace, so you can see the working in more detail
© Jo Edkins 2026 - return to lace index