Threads Review. DMC and Cantu

I tested two different threads, and two different styles of bobbins on these free egg Idrija Lace patterns by Tina Koder Grajzar created for the Festival idrijske čipke - Idrija Lace Festival

The left side egg, the flowery one, is made with DMC Cordonnet Special no 70 which tested at the same wraps per centimeter as the Idrija 30 thread. Designed for crochet rather than bobbin lace, it is a firm thread, maybe too round to create the blending of the fibers in the trails, the individual threads were noticeable compared to the Idrija thread which snuggles up nicely and leaves few gaps.

The Cantu thread making the leaf design egg is one often used for tape laces. Made by Coats, it tested at the identical 30 wpc. The twist on this thread is the opposite way, which meant it should have been wound onto the bobbins anticlockwise and the cross twist cross would be worked as twist cross, twist. I wound clockwise and used ctc as I normally do, the threads wanted to either undo from the bobbin, or didn't release to let out more thread. Again, not as willing to sit without space, being a slightly rounder thread.

I also experimented with the bobbins on the left, about the same size, maybe a little heavier than the 13.5cm Idrija bobbins I like to use but, despite the decorative turning on the whole length of the handle, they worked well and reassured me that it is not vital to have the correct bobbin for each style of lace (just an excuse to get more bobbins!)

The pattern is available on the Idrija Lace Festival facebook page Festival idrijske čipke - Idrija Lace Festival

Wriggly Bauble

Inspired by the Idrija Lace School's first book, I used some of the techniques I learned in this Wriggly Bauble design.  The first technique was a curve, so I used that for nearly all of this design.  

The outline for this design is the same as previous baubles I have released as patterns, I just redesigned the centre area. 

Eight threads laid side by side should fit inside the lines.  If you choose a sparkle (thicker) pair, place them in the center, 3 passives, 2 sparkle, 3 passives.  The outer edge pairs all turn into workers at some point so keep these the same. 

The tail of this one is new, instead of sewing the ends to the start, I moved the join to the bottom point of the outer edge which is made last.  Pin the threads 3 inches away from the start pins and work around to the same point where you cut the bobbins off with 3 inches of thread left on the pillow.  Use whichever method you prefer to tie the two lots of thread together to make a tassell, add beads, ribbon, more threads, whatever you like. 

The little seed beads around the edges and the centre beads need to be smaller than the width of the bar they sit on.  I made a video on how to add them.  You do not need to add these beads, just make the bars in the usual way.   

To make the bar to fit a bead I altered the joining point.  Add twists to reach the other side of the bar, not just the centre. On reaching the opposite side of the bar, I placed a magic thread loop into the finished bar, added the bead onto the magic threads, pushed it onto the bar, fed a loop of the worker into the loop of the magic thread and drew it through the end of the bar, above the bead.  Feed the waiting worker bobbin through the other worker bobbin loop and tension as shown in the video.

The bars are usually made by putting enough twists on the worker to reach half way across the bar, place a pin, tension, add the same number of twists and return to the trail.  When reaching the other side of the trail,  add the same number of twists, remove the pin, sew into the previous bar, add same number of twists and continue the trail without replacing the pin.    

https://youtu.be/dDgbyA3Wllc?si=LDJrNN3AqAEsHLHO

The insides of the curves are not pinned, they use a simple turning stitch which swaps the worker with the last passive.  The working pair which is left behind is given a single twist.  Be careful not to pull the curve out of shape by tensioning too fiercely at the pin or bars at the outer edge.  I made a video on how to make these curves.

https://youtu.be/70PDKoBazF0?si=rfj1fcMMXMhcHV1p

 

Sequins Between Trails

Placing sequins between two narrow trails creates a much wider edge with a lot of sparkle.

Video here   Sequin Edge in Bobbin Lace
This is a slightly different way of adding the sequins between two paralell trails to make a sparkly edge. The vertical pair stay in the center, so a feature colour can be used to go down the middle of the sequins. The horizontal pair work across the sequins, being taking into the trails at each side in turn and worked along with the passives until the next horizontal pair is needed. The extra pair worked along with the passives does not make much difference visually but it is suggested that it is the same colour as the trails, unless you wish to make a feature of the crenellated effect that the journey of the horizontal pairs makes.

This is the alternative, and more common way of adding sequins in an edge, with the pairs working diagonally and just bouncing off the trail edges. Details and video in earlier posts.

Spring Leaves Bookmark

Spring Leaves is an older pattern I created back in 2022.  I recently came across it again as an unworked drawing and wondered why I hadn't already made it.   Bobbins were wound and pillow prepared, but as I was figuring out how to lay the threads in, I had a distinct feeling of déjà vu.  I searched through my lace folders and found I had already made the bookmark! 

I would like to make this one again someday, with different veining and maybe using a coloured worker to create green leaves and soft yellow buds. 

For the .pdf pattern, go to my facebook page 'Lesley's Lace' and look in the Files tab. 

Blossom the Whale

A new addition to the Adventurous Aquarium series of patterns, Blossom the Whale is named after the tiny flowers in the ground. 

Size 11.5cm    28 Pairs approx. + 2 pairs perle 8.  Thread DMC Broder Machine 30 (27-30wpc)  Techniques - Blossom ground,  Half stitch, cloth stitch trails, sewing bars. attach bead for eye.   Sew flipper on right side at end.  

The Blossom ground can be made using the Honiton, or Bedfordshire techniques with a 4 or 5 pin crossing. A simpler version is to make two picots on the plait before making a windmill crossing and make another two picots after the crossing on the same plait. 

Start working in both directions with the coloured Perle pairs used as extra passives.  These can be replaced with standard threads.  The crossings at the plaits could be used to add sequins if they have a decent center space for the extra thread.  The blossom ground is started first with some of the plaits being carried through the trail and used for the curves of the tummy. 

I also experimented with the same pattern by using half stitch instead of the blossom ground, and cloth stitch and twist for the tummy and tail.  Be adventurous, let me see what you make with my patterns by posting them on my Lesley's Lace Facebook page.  

Ripple Fish - Pointed Corner Technique

 Ripple Fish 

Another addition to the Adventurous Aquarium set of free patterns available on this blog, my Lesley's Lace facebook page and with a few technique videos on my YouTube channel.  The Ripple Fish uses an Idrija style corner which gives a nice strong point.  

This pattern uses one pointed corner technique on every turn.   The pointed, or acute angle corner uses two sewings and four fixing stitches (sometimes called turning stitches in some laces). A fixing stitch is shown on a pattern as a circle around a join.  A sewing is shown as a pointed thread linking to a previous thread.   The sewings use temporary pins which are not replaced after the sewing.  To make a sewing, draw the thread of one bobbin through the temporary hole using a crochet hook or similar. Pass the second bobbin through the loop of the first bobbin and draw through and snuggle up to the trail. This is shown in the YouTube video of making the Pointed Corner.   https://youtu.be/ZimQzkBlMLI

Many corners suffer with the passives pulling away from the top pin, this version uses fixing, sometimes called turning stitches at the point which fills the space and stops the threads pulling away from the pin.   If the passives feature specific colours along the trails, they will get mixed up in this technique, so, decide if you want that to be a design choice, or double up the twist in a fixing stitch to keep the passive colours in order as you work the corner.  

The open spaces in this fish can be filled with a ground of your own choice after the fish is completed.  I chose to leave them open to echo ripples of sunlight coming through the water on the fish scales. 

Download - .pdf of the pattern from the Files tab on my Lesley's Lace facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/907516516997481/

EDIT I have now added my previously gifted Seaweed patterns following requests for the background green seaweed!