This continues a series of tallies patterns. This features the narrow, long tallies you find in Bedford lace.
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: 9 pairs
Style: Bedford
Size: 2.5 inches long
Stitches:
cloth stitch and twist
cloth stitch
twist
tally (red)
plait (green)
picot (green)
lazy join or windmill
join 2 pair + 1 pair
Details:
Nine pin headside
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 not much else! These are quite simple patterns to start on, if you want to learn the technique, which, I admit, is tricky. (Sorry - this one does includes some picots).
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. Put in the pin. It helps if you work the rest of the lace to where the end of the tally is, since then you can complete the tally easily.
These tallies are equal width, and narrow. I found this means that the worker bobbin can hang down normally (as opposed to the petal tallies of Maltese lace, where the worker bobbin's thread must be kept slack). But treat the worker bobbin with care. Pull the outer bobbins apart, pull the middle (non-worker) bobbin to straighten out the tally, then pull the worker bobbin JUST enough to get the right width.
Never get the bobbins muddled up! If you tug the worker pair as if it was one of the others, you have ruined the tally.
At the end, the individual bobbins now become pairs again. Work the next stitch with the pair/s from the rest of the lace. If you haven't got the relevant pairs available, then you can put a pin in between the two tally's pairs to keep it safe until they get used. Take this pin out when you want to do the stitch.
There are four tallies radiating out from a point next to the footside. These are all done with the same four pairs. Do the first tally, top left to bottom right. Do the join with the footside pair (cloth stitch, pin, cloth stitch). Then do the second tally, bottom right to top left. Then the headside. Then the third tally, bottom left to top right. Take the pin out from the footside join, and do the join with the footside pair. Then the fourth tally (top right to bottom left). The same two pairs do all the tallies. The arrows on the pattern show the direction they travel in. In fact, the same two pairs do ALL the tallies, so wind out lots of thread at the start!
Yes, it only uses 9 pairs! And 5 of those are used in the footside.
Close up of the lace, so you can see the working in more detail
© Jo Edkins 2026 - return to lace index