Works in Progress, Works in Hibernation

Posted on July 29, 2010 by fats

Little Pink Pineapple Pouch in crochet cotton thread 8 and 1.3mm crochet hook.

Thanks again to Bonnie, I’ve corrected and updated the pattern for the Little Pineapple Pouch, and have just completed a second pouch, this time in pink. Having completed this, I went back to making the Clones Knot, practising with the help of antique books, Maire Treanor’s video (taken by one of the students, Jeff, at an Irish Crochet workshop at Lacis), and the Irish Crochet Lover’s group in Ravelry.

Clones Knot in cotton 10 and .95mm hook.

Here, above, is what I have practiced so far using two methods – method from Lula Harvey’s Priscila book (the two knots on top) and Maire’s method (the two knots under) as shown on the video . I used cotton 10 and .95mm steel hook. I am still more used to Lula Harvey’s method but I am starting to get a hold of Maire’s method. In both cases, my main problem is getting the knots 100% snug so that a loop will not fall out. Sometimes they look really perfect, tight, even, and sometimes they look horrible.

Thanks to Cheri for the advise about the hook, which always goes under the thread in Maire’s method. Switching from Lula’s method I always felt that the hook needed to alternate between going under and going over.

Clones Knots in coton 8 and 1.3mm hook.

Knots in blue (above photo) – Thanks to Maire’s reminder to use ch 2, sl st to the other side of the knot – “This makes the knot sit up and is a lot more effective.” Now my typical problem is a loop sometimes coming loose as you can see in the photo. This was made with cotton 8 and a 1.3mm steel hook, a knot with 10 overs. I will practice more and now try to make these knots in the context of an actual project.

Now, my work in hibernation, the hairpin lace collar which I was attempting to do in cotton thread instead of fingering weight yarn.

Work in hibernation.

The development of the work as written in my notes:

July 24, 2010: I am using burgundy color cotton thread size 8 on a 4” staple with steel hook size 1.3mm. I use sc, then dc stitches per loop.

84 loops on each side made. Removed lace from staple but didn’t fasten off, continued to make loop (ch with sc) for button, then just made ch tall as the loops.
With sc and ch 8 connecting 4 loops twisted one at a time.
Didn’t fasten off but just made 16 ch to reach middle of lace, sc there, then 16 ch to reach loops on other side of the strip. With sc and ch 6 connecting 4 loops twisted one at a time.

Strip with edging is 20” long. Very soft, too soft, in cotton thread 8. The pattern is more feasible in fingering weight yarn. Unless, perhaps, one is inclined to starch the thread.

I am modifying the pattern to make a new piece.

Some lessons learned:

It is better NOT to link the link the middle of the lace with the loops with ch, the ch distorts the shape of the lace. Better to fasten off.

July 26: (photo above) I tried connecting the tips of lower loops with a crochet lace edging but it is not working out structurally. Cotton is just too soft and this will not hold up as a necklace or collar if worked this way. I will try to find another way.

SKullcap in Hairpin Lace using dk/light worsted yarn and 4mm hook.

Skullcap pattern in DK/light worsted yarn and 4.0mm hook.

Anyway, I am still inclined to continue with hairpin lace crochet (above photo) this time doing the Skullcap in Hairpin Lace crochet but this time using heavier weight yarn, DK/light worsted instead of fingering. I am following the pattern with some modification on the Edging so as to make a larger cap, a beret. This work in progress looks more promising. Thank goodness.

Also, the pattern writing is improving, very meticulous work which I am beginning to like more and more. Even just a few feedback from people who have used my patterns help tremendously – and I get very few feedback, perhaps most people who use my patterns figure out errors in the patterns by themselves, which is what I do with other patterns too.

It’s late – the photos of the hairpin lace beret will be up tomorrow.

Pineapple challenge 1 – the small pineapple pouch

Posted on July 27, 2010 by fats

Thanks to Maria Merlino‘s Pineapple Lovers and Haters Group, I got to meet lots of lovely people who adore the pineapple motif in crochet! There I met BonnieSD who was then looking for a pineapple pouch/bag. I made several lacy pineapple pouches to give away last Christmas, and so now I thought that could re-create the design and write the pattern.

It wasn’t easy! I started with two strands of cotton thread 8 and the pouch started looking big and the multiples were all wrong. I have never ripped up a project so many times before! Then finally, working with single strand thread, I managed a simple lacy pineapple pouch, shaped beautifully, and wrote down the pattern.

If you would like to test this pattern, please do and let me know if you run into any problems or if you find an error. I would also like to see the pouch in other types of thread, even in slightly heavier weight. I paste the pattern instructions below.

Use a ribbon tie with this crocheted Pineapple Pouch, or starch it to make a small lacy vase!

Pineapple Pouch

by Fatima Lasay (fats@crochetology.net)
Skill Level: Easy

Finished Measurements:
Base circumference = 2 ¾ inches
Height from base to top frill = 3 ¾ inches
Height from base to lace tie = 2 inches
Yarn: Crochet cotton thread, size 8, green
Hooks: Steel crochet hook size 3 (1.25mm)
Notions: Lace ribbon, 18 inches long (for tie)
Gauge: 34 sts and 15 rows = 4” (10cm) in double crochet
Terminology: Pattern is written using US crochet terminology.
Note: Pouch is worked from base to top.

Cute little pouch in pineapple motif - Use a ribbon tie or starch it to make a cute lacy vase! The perfect little pouch for gifting or souvenirs! Use for potpourri too.

Instructions
Pineapple Pouch

2dc-bobble: Yo, insert hook in st and pull thread through, yo and and pull through 2 loops on hook, Yo, insert in same st and pull thread through, yo and pull through 2 loops on hook, yo and pull through all 3 loops on hook.)
dc2tog: Yo, insert hook in st and pull thread through, yo and and pull through 2 loops on hook, Yo, insert in next st and pull thread through, yo and pull through 2 loops on hook, yo and pull through all 3 loops on hook.)

With crochet cotton size 8 ch 3 (count as 1 dc).

Rnd 1: 11 dc in first ch (12 dc made). Sl st in top of first dc to join.
Rnd 2:Ch 3, dc in same st, 2 dc in each dc, sl st in top of first dc to join. (24 dc)
Rnd 3: Ch 3, *ch 1, dc in next dc, rep from * all around ending with ch 1, sl st in top of first dc to join.
Rnd 4: Ch 3, dc in same dc, *ch 2, 2dc-bobble in next dc, rep from * all around ending with ch 2, sl st in top of first dc to join.
Rnd 5: *Ch 7, sk 1bobble , sc in next bobble, rep from * all around. (12 ch-7 loops made)
Rnd 6: Sl st to corner of ch-7 loop, ch 3 (count as 1 dc), 6 dc in loop, *ch 2, 7 dc in next loop, rep from * all around, ending with ch 2, sl st in first dc to join.
Rnd 7: Ch 3, dc in next 6 dc, *ch 2, dc in next 7 dc, sk 2-ch sp, dc in next 7 dc, rep from * all around ending with sl st in first dc to join.
Rnd 8: Sl st to top of 2nd dc, ch 3, dc in next 5 dc, *ch 3, dc in next 6 dc, sk 2 dc, dc in next 6 dc, rep from * all around ending with sl st in first dc to join.
Rnd 9: Sl st to top of 2nd dc, ch 3, dc in next 4 dc, *ch 3, 5 dc in ch-3 sp, ch 3, dc in next 5 dc, sk 2 dc, dc in next 5 dc, rep from * all around, ending with sl st in first dc to join.
Rnd 10: Sl st to top of 2nd dc, ch 3, dc in next 3 dc, *ch 3, [dc in next dc, ch 1] 4 times, dc in next dc, ch 3, dc in next 4 dc, sk 2 dc, dc in next 4 dc, rep from * all around, ending with sl st in first dc to join.
Rnd 11: Sl st to top of 2nd dc, ch 3, dc in next 2 dc, *ch 3, sk ch-3 sp[sc in ch-1 loop, ch 3] 3 times, sc in last ch-1 loop, ch 3, dc in next 3 dc, sk 2 dc, dc in next 3 dc, rep from * all around, ending with sl st in first dc to join.
Rnd 12: Sl st to top of 2nd dc, ch 3, dc in next dc, *ch 3, sk ch-3 sp, [sc in ch-3 loop, ch 3] 2 times, sc in last ch-3 loop, ch 3, dc in next 2 dc, sk 2 dc, dc in next 2 dc, rep from * all around, ending with sl st in first dc to join.
Rnd 13: Ch 3, dc in next dc, *ch 3, sk ch-3 sp, sc in ch-3 loop, ch 3, sc in next ch-3 loop, ch 3, dc2tog in next 2 dc, ch 5, dc2tog in next 2 dc, rep from * all around, ending with ch 5, sl st in top of first dc to join.
Rnd 14: Ch 6 (make 1 dc, ch 3), *sk ch-3 sp, sc in ch-3 loop, ch 3, 7 dc in ch-5 loop, ch 3, rep from * all around ending with 6 dc in last ch-5 loop. Sl st in top of dc (3rd ch of ch 6) to join.
Rnd 15: Ch 6 (make 1 dc, ch 3), *sk (3 ch, sc, 3 ch), dc in next dc, [ch 1, dc in next dc] 6 times, ch 3, rep from * all around ending with ch 1, sl st in top of first dc to join.
Rnd 16: Sl st to ch-1 sp, *ch 3, dc in ch-3 sp, [ch 3, sc in ch-1 sp] 6 times, rep from * all around.
Rnd 17: Sl st up ch 3 to tip of dc, ch 3, 2 dc in same dc, *[ch 3, sc in ch-3 loop] 5 times, ch 3, 3 dc in next dc, rep from * all around ending with ch 3, sl st in first dc to join.
Rnd 18: Ch 4 (count as 1 dc, ch 1), dc in next dc, ch 1, dc in next dc, *[ch 3, sc in ch-3 loop] 4 times, ch 3, [dc in next dc, ch 1] 2 times, dc in next dc, rep from * all around ending with ch 3, sl st in first dc in to join.
Rnd 19: Ch 3, dc in same dc, *[ch 1, 2 dc in next dc] 2 times, [ch 3, sc in ch-3 loop] 3 times, ch 3, 2 dc in next dc, rep from * all around, ending with ch 3, sl st in first dc to join.
Rnd 20: Ch 3, dc in same dc, *[ch 1, 2 dc in next dc] 5 times, [ch 3, sc in ch-3 loop] 2 times, ch 3, 2 dc in next dc, rep from * all around, ending with ch 3, sl st in first dc to join. (You should have 12 2-dc groups in each scallop)
Rnd 21: Ch 3, dc in next dc, *[ch 3, sl st in 3rd ch from hook to make picot, dc2tog in next 2 dc] 5 times, ch 3, sc in ch-3 loop, picot, ch 3, dc2tog in next 2 dc, rep from * all around, ending with ch 3, sl st in first dc to join. Fasten off.

Block and dry. With lace ribbon, weave in rnd 14, keeping ribbon behind 7-dc group. Tie ends of lace ribbon into knot.

Working in Hairpin Lace

Posted on July 24, 2010 by fats

I am using burgundy color cotton thread size 8 on a 4” staple with steel hook size 1.3mm. I use sc, then dc stitches per loop.

The Hairpin Lace Collar is on my hook right now, this time, burgundy cotton 8 with a steel 1.3mm hook. The staple is 4″ as I have used with the acrylic fingering. Finer thread would mean working with more loops. I also decided to use [sc. dc] on each loop, giving the middle of the lace strip a larger, sturdier structure, and a more decorative appearance.

If you wish to learn hairpin lace, I include below some instructions as written in “Priscilla Yoke Book, Crochet and Tatting” (thanks to the Antique Pattern Library).

How to make the Maltese Crochet (Hairpin Lace), from “Priscilla Yoke Book, Crochet and Tatting” published by the Priscilla Publishing Co., 1916.

Instructions for Hairpin Lace/Maltese Crochet:

From “Priscilla Yoke Book, Crochet and Tatting” published by the Priscilla Publishing Co., 1916. (See illustration above)

Tie the thread around the staple;
Put the hook under the lower thread and draw a loop of thread under and up;
Thread over hook and draw through.
Turn the staple from right to left, carrying the hook up over the rounded end to the back side.
Working from back side, insert hook under loop on left prong, draw thread through, thread over, and
Draw through both stitches on hook.
Turn staple from right to left, bringing hook to upper side of work, insert hook under forward loop as before, draw thread through, thread over hook and draw through both stitches.

Hairpin crochet instructions are also found in the chapter on Crochet Work from “Encyclopedia of Needlework by Thérèse de Dillmont.”

The Hairpin Crochet Group on Ravelry has a collection of links to online resources on hairpin lace.

Some instructional videos on Hairpin Lace Crochet that I recommend:

Horquilla: técnica básica
Horquilla: variaciones al tejer las tiras (Parte 1)
Horquilla: variaciones al tejer las tiras (Parte 2)
Horquilla: técnica básica para la unión de las tiras

Free Pattern for Beginners:

Woman’s Hairpin Lace Shawl (with instructions on basic hairpin lace)

The Clones Knot

Posted on July 23, 2010 by fats

The Clones Knot is a very important stitch in Irish Crochet. You can learn more about the Clones Knot on page 5 of “Priscilla Irish Crochet Book No. 1” and on page 27-28 of “DMC Irish Crochet Lace” (where the Clones Knot is referred to as Picot in Post Stitch).

I include here a short video of making the Clones Knot. I must admit that it isn’t a very good detailed video, given the limited equipment I have, but the video can at least give some idea of how the stitch is made. I will try to make a more detailed, closer video next time.

To access the video, just click on the image below. (It is in .MOV format and about 8MB in size).

Still image from the video clip. Clones Knot made using steel hook 1mm and cotton thread 8.

Update: Thanks to Eileen and Barb from the Irish Crochet Lovers Group for sending a link to a video of Maire Treanor making the Clones Knot. Eileen notes: “In the last few days Maire Treanor has made available to everyone a video of her making a Clones Knot as taught to her by women who worked and taught in the Lace industry in Ireland around the Clones area in county Monaghan.”

Eileen also notes: “This is the knot that Maire refers to as a bullion style knot. Most books written from 1840’s onward give this form of the knot.”

It is a video worth looking at, clearly showing the technique for making the overs/loops more even. You can see the video (on YouTube) by clicking on the image below.

Making the Clones Knot by Maire Treanor

Here, below is the written instruction I prepared for making the Clones Knot (in the patterns for Lantana and Bougainvillea Flowers).

Ch 7. Holding the ch taut with the thumb and middle finger of the left hand, thread over hook, point the hook towards you and swing it under the chain, catch the thread from under the chain and pull it up – there should now be three loops over the hook (one “over” completed). Make a total of 5 overs. YO and pull thread through all 11 loops on hook, ch 1 to tighten the loops into a knot, sl st in ch at base of knot (Clones Knot completed). Sl St down the ch. Rep from * to make 10 buds. Sl st in ch of first bud stem to make a ring, fasten off.

It can be tricky pulling the thread through all the loops on the hook. I have found that it is easier to do this if I push the overs near the shank of the hook as I make them. This will make the loops of the overs a bit bigger and more even so passing the hook and thread through them will be easier. So don’t work the overs too close to the tip of the hook. Also, when you are about to pull the thread through all the loops, relax your grip on the loops/overs, just let the tip of the hook do all the work of catching the thread and passing it through all the loops. I have found that there’s less chance of the hook getting caught in the overs if you release your grip on them.

And here, below, I include the illustrations and instructions from two antique pattern books showing how to make The Clones Knot.

From page 27-28 of “DMC Irish Crochet Lace” (where the Clones Knot is referred to as Picot in Post Stitch).

The last kind of picot we shall describe is rather more difficult to make than the foregoing ones; namely those in post stitch (fig 65) only employed in the larger and handsomer pieces of work.

According to the number of loops to be mounted should be the length of the chain stitches you begin with, counting 2 loops to every chain stitch.

Making the Clones Knot

Figure 66 shows a picot in the making with 3 loops already mounted on the needle; there you see that you begin by an over, then you pick up a loop of thread under the chain of chain stitches, then make a second over and pick up a second loop and so on.

Generally you make 8 overs and pick up 8 loops; to secure them you make one more over which you draw through the 16 loops and overs, and then with a last over you finish the two last loops left on the needle (see fig 67).

Finally make 1 more plain stitch over the chain stitches that precede the picot (see fig 68).

From page 5 of “Priscilla Irish Crochet Book No. 1”

The Clones Knot from “Priscilla Irish Crochet Book No. 1”

Fig 13. The “Clones” Knot. – To work this knot crochet, say, 5 ch sts (more or less according to the thread you are using), put the thread around the needle as if for a treble stitch; pass the hook downwards to the left of the chain and catch up a loop, then make up another loop to the right, continue to catch up loops right and left alternately until you have 14 loops on needle. This will nearly cover the needle and chain with sts. Draw a loop right through all these and then another through the last to draw the knot close together. Make a stitch across the chain so as to encircle it close to the knot. If in drawing up the thread through the stitches the needle should stick, hold the knot between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand and push the hook as far as possible, then pull the stitch on hook through. Unless your needle is nicely shaped, it is impossible to work these knots neatly; and if they are not close and compact, they never look well. Large knots with as many as 20 or 30 loops are much used as a raised ornament. Up the centres of a leaf for example, these large knots have a very pretty appearance.

When learning the knot do not be surprised at many failures at first. The needle is sure to stick sometimes when halfway through, and to refuse to go either backwards or forwards. Do not try too hard to force it through or you will break the thread. It is better to undo the work patiently and begin over again. If you find a needle that works smoothly, it is well to label it and use it for nothing else.

Thank you very much to the Antique Pattern Library for making so many antique books available where the books “Priscilla Irish Crochet Book No. 1” and “DMC Irish Crochet Lace” may be found.

Update: Free as in beer

Posted on July 14, 2010 by fats

Two patterns just finished and available as free pattern downloads. Just click on the image to download the PDF. Enjoy!

The Flower Collar/Neckscarf

Errata:** The corrected version of the pattern has been uploaded July 20, 2010. If you downloaded the pattern before this date, you must download again to get the corrected version.*

Thanks to Clairethere for spotting the errors!

I started this project because I wanted a lacy, not too thick, scarf that did not stretch vertically and become very thin when I wear it.

The scarf and flower are worked separately. The flower is attached to the scarf by tying the flower’s ties through the lacy holes in the scarf, then the scarf is kept in place by passing the ties through the holes of the other end of the scarf.

The Weed Flowers Anklet

With a bit of abaca, hemp or raffia or even paper twine, you can make the rings of this anklet and attach them together through a simple weaving process with crochet cotton thread.

The abaca rings are placed on top of the orange crocheted strap and the green crochet chain is woven through. The result is an arrangement that looks like a garland of small weed flowers.