Turning a Square Corner and Working Bars - Idrija techniques - Video

Turning a Square Corner and Working Bars

Pattern worked from the book - Idrija Lace - Narrow Cloth Stitch

Using 5 pairs of bobbins, this practice strip was used to experiment with the amount of twists I needed for the interlocking bars between the trails. This is dictated by the thread used and the size of the pattern (not a pricking because Idrija patterns are never pre-pricked). To practice with the thread/pattern size can save a lot of frustration later.

Video here https://youtu.be/t4G3q9GQ26o?si=N079-KPpphMtJnUo

The position of the pin on the bar line is just a teeny bit to the first side worked because, when the other side of the bar is sewed in, the temporary pin is left out and the tension of the joining side pair slightly moves the center of the join. This is why both sides need to have the same number of twists, an unequal number of twists will result in one side being shorter and uneven.

The corner uses fixing stitches ( ctctc ) with the last passive and the worker before the pin. The pillow is turned and a second fixing stitch with the same passive and worker pair is made. Watch your tensions here, it is easy to leave a long loop at the corner if you don't tension all 4 bobbins. The next two passives are worked through (ctc) before the temporary pin is taken out, a sewing made with the worker pair into the hole. The worker is now laid with the passives, and the old worker which has been waiting aside on it's own, becomes the new worker and continues to work the 4 passives, and is used to make more bars further along the band.

I will have to make quite a few more to get comfortable with them, this video shows the experiments to get the right amount of twists and see what tensioning works best for me. It is easy to leave a section of lace, feeling that is is made correctly, according to the book, and not see that it has settled into a different shape due to tensioning further down the lace.

Pattern worked is from the book - Idrija Lace - Narrow Cloth Stitch  

Idrija Lace School website https://www.cipkarskasola.si/?lang=en