Needlelace Tutorial - Leaf 10 - Part 2

[Lorelei Halley]

This part of the needlelace tutorial will be about the lace filling stitches and the cordonnette (buttonholed outline threads/cordonnet).  You don't need to work exactly the same stitches I did.  You could repeat some of the stitches from part 2 of the PLAIN BOOKMARK SAMPLER. 

The Lace Filling Stitches

In the 1st section I worked corded Brussels with a small hole.  Work the foundation row.  Then for the return row, take the thread back to the left.  Work the 3rd row, look  and another row.  When you are ready to start the hole, while making the straight return, whip the return thread into a loop of the previous row.  When you work left to right again, skip the stitch which was whipped. Make the return row.  When you get to the hole, work 2 stitches into that hole.

 

On the other side I worked the top section in single Brussels. See here  and  here. 

Then start the next corded Brussels section.  Because the rows are curving, I have whipped the return into some stitches spaced across the curved line.  A straight return wouldn't work.    Here is the 4 hole bud (which I didn't work very well).

 

The 2nd section down on the right is whipped twisted Brussels, twisted 2 times.  Here and here.  This is also called English stitch.  English 1      English 2     English 3 

 

The 3rd section on the right is also corded single Brussels, but with a row of 3 holes. 

 

The 3rd section on the left is pea stitch variant 3.   See here .  This variant alternates a row made of 2 bh stitches spaced apart, with a row made of 1 bh space 3 bh.  How the two rows mesh together determines how the stitch will look in a large area.  There is another variant which meshes the rows together differently.  See here and here.

 

The 4th section on the left repeats corded Brussels with a line of holes.

 

The last section on the right is twisted Brussels, twisted only 1 time, whipped.  This is also called point d'Espagne.  step 1   -  step 2  -    row 2   -   row 3  If you compare this section with the English stitch section above, you will see that this section has taller stitches.  Normally you would expect the English stitch section to have taller stitches, because English stitch has one more twist than point d'Espagne.  It came out this way because I let my tension be more slack when I worked this point d'Espagne section.

 

Working the Cordonnette - Buttonholing the Outline

For right handed people work the buttonholing over the outline from right to left.  Work it over at least 2 padding threads (I have used 3).  You work from right to left so that your left thumb (your off hand) can hold the padding threads in position as you work.

 

When you think about what parts to buttonhole first, think in terms of prominence.  The side veins of this leaf are not the most prominent parts, so they should be done 1st.  First pair of side veins completed.   Then work the central vein with the stem.  And the outer edge of the leaf should be done last, so that you have a smooth uninterrupted outline.  See finished leaf at top of page.

 

All the photos for this tutorial are in this album.   

Part 1.

 

 © 2011 Lorelei Halley    This may be copied for personal use, but not for any commercial use.  Nor may it be copied to any website or other internet site.  Links are welcome.

 

[Lorelei Halley]

This tutorial will stay up permanently.  Any member can join in at any time.  Please post photos, questions or comments about the lace filling stitches and buttonholing the outline (working the cordonnette) here.

[Elizabeth Ligeti]

That leaf is so nicely worked, Lorelei. Well done.

It has photographed very well too, and comes out nice and clear.

[Lorelei Halley]

That photo was taken using the scanner attached to my computer.  For any lace small enough to fit onto the scanner's glass, I prefer that method.  It allows me to specifiy how many pixels per inch, so I can get the best detail with manageable file size.  And after I have the raw scan, I can modify the image slightly to clarify the structure.  Usually I increase the color intensity slightly and darken the mid-tones slightly.  These both have the effect of making the tiny shadows between the threads more visible.  And it is those tiny shadows which tell us how it was made.

 

I do hope somebody actually uses these tutorials.