Wriggly Seahorse

I have been learning how to make Idrija lace, still only a beginner in this particular lace and I don't yet know all the techniques.   However, I do enjoy experimenting with my lace, so I used Idrija lace style and techniques to rework my Adventurous Seahorse pattern into a new, wriggley, sparkly, seahorse.

Idrija lace has protected status so I cannot describe my 'wriggly' lace as Idrija, even if it is made using the same techniques.  I can, however, call it tape lace and say that I used Idrija techniques.  This gives me more freedom if I need to add, or alter a little section, making it my own Muaiga style lace. 

This Wriggly Seahorse uses one of the first technique lessons in the first of the Idrija Lace School's books - the curve.

The curve is made with pins only on the outer edge.  The inner curve is created by working ctc to the inside, a twist is made on the last passive before working through it,  place the worker to the back of the pillow (this helps with holding the tension inside the curve). Use the last passive as the new worker.  The waiting worker has a twist added if it changes place with the worker/passive at the next turning stitch.

The bars which join one trail to the other have to wait half way across until the next bit of trail is made before it can join.   This is done using the worker, adding enough twists to reach the center of the bar, placing a pin just a whisker off the center towards the working side, take the worker pair around the pin, tension, and add the same number of twists before returning to the trail.  The number of twists vary according to thread, and the width of the bar.  Too many twists and the bar will distort, too few twists and the bar will show the separate threads.  When reaching the other side of the bar, repeat the same number of twists.  Remove the pin.  Use a crochet hook, magic thread, lazy susan, whatever you have, to make a sewing. One thread is drawn through the waiting half bar, making a loop. Feed the other bobbin through this loop.  Tension.  Add the same number of twists and return to working the trail. Do not replace the pin, the tension should keep the bar nice and neat. 

Notice which thread is on top of the pair which will make the sewing.  This is the one you need to use for the sewing.  If it is the nearest to the bar, use that one.   If it is not the one next to the bar, lay the other one to the back of the pillow, make the sewing with the top thread and feed the one you laid to the back of the pillow down into the loop.  This helps to keep the number of twists even.  You will notice sewings only on one side will need this little tweak.  

The final join is hidden behind where the trail crosses on the cheek.  I placed it here to avoid the lump which is created when using the Idrija technique for joining the beginning and end of a trail.  In everyday use, this lace is worn, washed and used as a fabric so the joins need to be strong enough to stand up to this kind of use.  If your piece is purely decorative, use which ever joining method you favour.  I used the full Idrija joining technique from the book on this piece to keep up my practice as I continue to learn.   

Where the trail crosses, I used a crochet hook and just caught one thread from the center of the previous trail and sewed in one passive thread to fix the two together.

The outer passives often get swapped with the worker as they make corners, points, turning stitches, so any fancy threads need to be in the center.   Traditionally there would have been no colours or fancy thread used, but, for this adventure, I used a thick blue glitter thread on the center pair.  This meant that I could use a finer thread for the other 4 pairs.  The pattern shows the trail as two lines.  The threads you choose should fit 8 threads side by side easily between the lines.  Because I used such a thick center pair, I reduced the thickness of the other 4 pairs.   Two fancy center threads can be used, as long as they are not the outside passive pairs. 

Patterns are found on my Lesley's Lace facebook page, see the 'Files' tab for .pdf versions of the patterns.  These print at A4, but the pattern has been kept away from the top and bottom so it can be printed at letter size too. You may need to adjust your printer settings for the final size of the patterns. 

Wriggly Seahorse, a new addition to the Adventurous Aquarium series. 

Print at A4 for a 12cm pattern. 

This is the original pattern, prints at A4

Adventurous Seahorses and Seaweed with Thread End Leaves. 

Search in the bar at the top for 'Adventurous Seahorse' and the original post should appear with lots more information.