Lace Edgings and Insertion E-Book

Helen James

• Herausgeber: The Crowood Press
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Serie: Knitting Techniques
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 99

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Lace knitting need not make up a whole garment; adding an edging or including an insertion can enhance both clothing and accessories to great effect. This accessible book includes clear step-by-step tutorials of the basic techniques in lace knitting, as well as a variety of illustrated stitch motifs that lend themselves to edges and insertions. There are practice pieces, which can be used later as full projects, tips and suggestions about the usefulness of creating and maintaining a work book, as well as five full projects of varying degrees of complexity.

Leseprobe

First published in 2022 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

[email protected]

www.crowood.com

© Helen James 2022

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 0 7198 4065 4

Cover design: Blue Sunflower Creative

Acknowledgements

Thea Sullivan for modelling; Deb Bramham from findmeknitting for patiently tech editing the Evening Sky Cardigan; Sophie Thomson for the use of her hands to demonstrate the various techniques; Chris Campbell for proof reading.

Contents

Abbreviations and Symbols

Introduction

1 Tools and Materials

2 Casting On and Casting Off

3 Edges

4 Increasing and Decreasing

5 Working with Charts and Motifs

6 Motif Patterns and Illustrations

7 Sampling

8 Projects

Further Information

Index

Abbreviations and Symbols

ABBREVIATIONS

co

cast on or cast off

dec

decrease

decrease 7 to 1

decrease 7 stitches to 1 stitch

decrease 8 to 1

decrease 8 stitches to 1 stitch

dk

double knit

dpn(s)

double-pointed needle(s)

inc

increase

k

knit

(k1, yo, k1) in 1 stitch

knit, yarn over and knit into the same stich to make 3 stitches from 1

k2tog

knit 2 together

k3tog

knit 3 together

kfb

knit into front and back of the stitch

ktbl

knit through back of loop

m1

make 1

n1

needle 1 (of dpns)

n2

needle 2 (of dpns)

n3

needle 3 (of dpns)

p

purl

p2tog

purl 2 together

p3tog

purl 3 together

psso

pass slip stitch over

RS

right side

skp

slip, knit, pass slip stitch over

sl

slip 1 stitch purlwise with yarn at the back

slip purlwise with yarn in front

slip 1 stitch purlwise with yarn in front

sl1, k2tog, psso

slip 1, knit 2 together, pass slip stitch over

ssk

slip, slip, knit (i.e. slip 2 stitches separately, then knit them together)

sssk

slip, slip, slip, knit (i.e. slip 3 stitches separately, then knit them together)

st(s)

stitch(es)

WS

wrong side

yo

yarn over

yrn

yarn round needle

SYMBOLS

Symbols used in this book.

Introduction

Mention lace knitting to many people, and they will respond with the belief that knitting lace is far too complex, created from cobweb thin yarn with exceedingly fine needles. While it is of course true that lace often looks immensely intricate, complex and a challenge to make, and whilst this is certainly true for the creation of the wedding ring Shetland Shawls for example, much of it is not necessarily nearly as difficult as it may first appear. If this is your first exploration of lace knitting, then start simple with thicker yarns, work your way through some straightforward projects whilst you start to learn the art and language of lace knitting, gradually challenging yourself with more complex pieces and thinner yarns as your skills and interest develop.

It is not the intention within this book to teach you how to knit complex pieces of fine Shetland or other lace; the aim is to look at some of the techniques and motifs regularly seen in the construction of shawls, wraps, stoles and other complex-looking lace items, through an exploration lace edgings, insertions and borders. These elements are used within traditional lace knitting to provide frames and borders to central patterns, both to provide visual symmetry as well as structure and additional interest. It is often difficult to separate the different parts of a complex pattern, particularly if you are not an experienced knitter of fine lace shawls. When, however, these aspects of knitted lace are teased out from the complex constructions of an overall piece and explored on their own it is much easier to understand how these are made and how they then ultimately relate to other aspects of complex lace construction. With this knowledge, you are more easily able to understand the construction of traditional lace and the patterns for its creation, potentially allowing you to modify or design your own lace pieces. Like learning a new language, as you become more familiar with the component parts of lace knitting, your understanding develops, allowing you to start exploring how these different aspects of traditional lace construction can be used together in a wide variety of combinations or separately as stand-alone motifs. This allows for the use of lace in a multiplicity of contemporary garments and accessories. It becomes much easier to see how you could modify and add a lace edging or insert to a plain sweater or cardigan, or brighten up a shop-bought sweater by attaching a beautiful hand knitted edging or insertion.

Spider insertion.

Knitting the Spider Net Trim.

Shoal of Sillocks. A traditional pattern from the Island of Unst.

Within this book you will find detailed information about the techniques needed to successfully create and use lace edgings, and borders and insertions, either knitted as part of a project or sewn on after a project has been completed. There is a chapter specifically devoted to patterns and charts for a selection of motifs (Chapter 6). There is detailed guidance on how to use charts (Chapter 5), particularly useful if you wanted to modify a motif to fit a garment or other project as in The Evening Sky Cardigan featured in Chapter 8.

Chapter 7 encourages practical experimentation of the techniques and motifs from earlier chapters through the use of a workbook and the creation of swatches. There is information about finishing techniques including blocking and grafting. At the end of the book there are a number of projects, some of which are more detailed and more complicated than others, all of which can be varied depending upon individual tastes.

In order to get the best from this book you should have the following basic skills: be able to knit and purl, make yarn over increases, perform knit 2 and 3 together decreases and follow a basic pattern. Information is provided about the techniques used in this book, as well as advice about yarns, blocking (where necessary) and finishing.

CHAPTER 1

Tools and Materials

EQUIPMENT

If you are going to knit lace you will need appropriate yarns and, as well as the basic equipment for more general knitting (such as measuring tapes, pins, needles, and rulers), you will need some more specific equipment designed for the knitting of lace.

Needles

Firstly, you will need needles which have sharp tips. Blunt-ended needles fare badly when required to perform multiple decreases and when using fine yarns. In order to make the task of knitting lace a pleasant and satisfying experience, it is worth taking the time to acquire some sharp-pointed needles. Lace needles come as straight single-pointed needles, double-pointed needles and circulars, which are increasingly popular. Circulars with interchangeable tips are particularly useful but care should be taken to ensure that the joins are smooth and will not snag your yarn. This can also be an issue when working with fixed point circulars. It is worth undertaking some research and paying a little extra to obtain good quality circular needles with smooth joins.

Straight needles and circulars all with sharp tips.

Bamboo and metal crochet hooks. It is useful to have a selection of different sizes to deal with different thicknesses of yarn.

Secondly, even if your crochet skills are rudimentary at best, it is worth investing in a set of basic crochet hooks. These provide an invaluable aid for picking up lost stitches and for performing other tasks such as creating bound edges, making joins and so forth. A mix of bamboo and metal hooks is ideal, with the bamboo providing a grippier feel, whilst the metal ones are ideal if you need maximum slip.

Stitch markers

Stitch markers are an enormous help to keep you on track of patterns. You should choose snag-free markers, as fine yarns can easily tangle and get caught in them. Those markers that may have always performed well with thicker yarns may prove a liability when used with finer yarns. Alternatively, you can use scrap yarn to mark your stitches.

Stitch markers come in many forms.

Cotton yarn

You will need some waste yarn for inserting lifelines and performing provisional cast ons. Choose smooth, strong, colourfast yarns that will not break or shred, and that are not fuzzy and thus risk obscuring your live stitches. Mercerized cotton works well.

Cotton yarn, both strong and smooth, makes ideal lifelines and stitch markers.

Other equipment

You will need sharp scissors, lace pins and blunt-ended sewing needles for finishing. Safety pins are especially handy for securing small numbers of stitches in situations in which a stitch holder might get in the way.

Scissors, ruler and stitch gauge, measuring tape, assorted pins and blunt-ended sewing needles are all essential components of the lace knitter’s kit bag.

Equipment for blocking

In this book, there is no great requirement for blocking wires, although if you plan to knit much lace you will find them extremely useful. They do tend to provide better results than just pulling the lace out with pins alone. Alternatively, use a strong cotton thread to pull out your lace in place of the wires.

Fine bendy blocking wires and T-pins for pinning out lace.

Blocking mats are useful to provide a surface for pinning out your lace. You can buy bespoke blocking boards; however, you can use the large grey rubber mats often used for garage floors – they are cheaper, just as versatile, and cope with having pins stuck into them very well. They are interlocking and can be put together in whatever combination you wish.

A steam iron and/or clothes steamer are an invaluable aid for finishing off projects.

YARNS

Selecting a yarn

Generally speaking, when people think about knitting lace they think of incredibly fine lace-weight and cobweb-weight yarns and very fine needles. In reality, you can knit lace with anything you like, although some yarns will work better than others. Different yarns have different properties and so the finished results will vary accordingly.

Here you can clearly see the difference between the two samples of the same motif knitted in a plain yarn and then in a multi-coloured yarn. Note how the motif knitted in the plain yarn stands out.

Assorted yarns, including lace weights, art yarns, double knitting and 4 ply.

Silks, for example, can be blocked extremely hard, and can provide a lovely finish but have little give. Shetland yarn, on the other hand, has fantastic stitch definition and produces a light and airy fabric with a lovely drape and blocks extremely well but may not feel as soft you might wish. If this is the case, try cashmere or cashmere blends for the ultimate in softness and that luxury feel. Cashmere can have strength and stitch definition added by blending it with other yarns, for example cotton or silk which will add strength and drape, or other types of wool which add bounce and stitch definition depending on the type chosen.

Multi-coloured yarns are increasingly used to create lace. However, if the colours are too vibrant the yarn may detract from the lace, or even render it invisible. This is another very good reason to swatch your yarn before starting on your project. Very fuzzy yarns with a lot of halo may also be less effective for knitting lace, for the simple reason that the pattern vanishes into the fuzz! Larger needles will be helpful in such instances. You can, however, use yarns that vary in thickness to good effect, for example the art yarns that are increasingly popular and often very beautiful.