7 types of lace... I think only 4

In the comment section on this post on this blog some one said there are 7 types of lace

1. knitting
2. crochet
3. weaving
4. bobbin lace
5. tatting
6. hairpin lace
7. needle lace

I think the person was confused as a lot of these are in the same four categories. Which is my opinion. She seamed to be naming laces , which there are way more than seven like hundreds , looks like she was trying to name techniques and didn't succeed, the lace fairy has 5 techniques on her site but in looking at them her last one is a combination of multiple other techniques so it would still break down into these four categories. Some laces can incorporate more than one of the techniques. That is why once you learn one lace it is easy to learn another as they may share similar techniques.

1. loop lace = knitting, crochet, hairpin lace, Romanian, oya...
2. knotted lace = tatting and netting, American Macramé, oya...
3. woven lace = bobbin lace is a sort of weaving, battenburg and other tape laces, teneriffe....
4. needle lace = Romanian, teneriffe, battenberg, oya , beading...

OK I do
hairpin, needle, crochet,tatting ,teneriffe lace,bobbin lace, Romanian, macramé,hand loom weaving, polka spider web lace, nanduti, battenberg/battenburg lace, oya, beading etc..... the list goes on and on

I pretty much do some in each category

Trying to learn knitting and weaving.

What laces do you make

Romanian Lace cord tutorial / video

OK so I have never made a tutorial video so this is very ruff but I hope it helps those who want to learn to make this cord. As it is easier to learn in motion than from written instructions. I had the camera on a tripod so it goes a little in and out of focus sorry for that. In the photos are some close ups of the cord in different colors and sizes of thread so you can see what it looks like up close. This cord is very unique in that it can unravel from either end that is why it is very important the over and under because if you don't do that the cord will not unwind from both ends. I have made this cord with size 100 tatting thread up to Aunt Lydia's rug yarn ( I am not fond of the yarn size). At one time I thought I would make a rug with this technique using big rug yarn didn't like the project so it got torn apart and never saw the light of day.

all the yarn overs I am going to call hook over or hook under
ho =hook over
hu= hook under
the pattern is
chain 2 skip chain closest to hook single crochet in second hook doing first Hook over and second hook under turn go through first bar on side. *ho then hu pull off turn. Now go under the two bars on side at the same time * repeat from star to star for desired length

I noticed on my husbands computer that flickr cut off the last bit of my video so I am trying to upload straight from my computer in the hopes of the whole video being there. Not much was removed just me explaining that I was using sugar and cream yarn and an f hook and that I usually use a 10 steel hook and size 10 thread so it was awkward for me to use such large yarn.

The one above is the upload to blogger version that has everything in it. The one below my flickr upload isn't missing much and can be scaled to full screen so I left both for you to look at.

tutorial done in sugar and cream yarn size f hook but I usually use size 10 thread size 10 hook
size 20 thread size 12 hook
size 30 thread size 14 hook
anything smaller a size 16 hook

The last photo has two other cords in it they do not unwind from both ends but add nice texture to your work these are some of the cord I used on the bolero vest.

Other names for this type of lace Romanian macramé, Romanian Point lace, Romanian Crochet, European Macramé,

You do not have to use this cord just for Romanian lace use it any where a strong cord is need. Also you can string beads on it and add a little differnt texture to your work. You could string all the beads on first or add them as you go but this is not traditional but if it is your work that doesn't matter. Also you can use this as a cord embellishment, if using smaller crochet thread like size 30, on clothes and other items just as you would rick rack on top of items.

Please help me my play video isn't working on my computer please let me know if this plays for you. Would love to see any results from this there is a group on flickr for this type of work. I will do more tutorials in the future as to how to baste this down to a pattern how to find patterns at quilt/fabric stores even when they say they don't have them or know what they are. lastly a few filling stitches. But I am not promising when I will do this other than sometime this summer because of work and I still need to get the last rug tutorial up.

Romanian Point lace

I have started a group on flickr for those who make Romanian point lace. If you don't know what this is there are a few posts I have done about it. I am hoping this group will be able to pull together lots of different cord patterns and show of filling stitches and the like. I know in the title of the group is the word crochet that was because the cord is crocheted this isn't really a crochet group but a point lace group ie. needle lace.

Progress on kids and my crochet lace

One of my kids has finished her ball of thread the one doing finger crochet. I have finished mine and decided I wanted more lace so I added another ball and I am continuing to crochet lace. The oldest hasn't finished her ball yet but she is steadily working on it. My middle daughter seams to have hit a wall and hasn't progressed much. But that is normal for her she usually is a little more timid on picking up new skills in time she will go gangbusters on it when she is more comfortable with it all. But I may switch her over to tatting before she gets this as tatting maybe a little easier for her to manipulate. I know that sounds odd but its true. Tatting is actually easier than most people think especially if you start with chains and not rings make a yard of chain then make a foot of chain with picots then switch to rings and then join then you have it.

What little hands can do

Decided to update earlier than Wednesday

So all three have tried their hands at crochet and they had me make a piece of lace too. They didn't want to be alone in their endeavor so I made a piece of lace and will continue to till my ball of thread is gone. I have a habit of doing this if I make lace for fun I have to use the whole ball. As to why I do not know.

Results we will go from oldest to youngest I guess this includes me.I made yardage lace using size 10 thread and a 6 hook (same thread size, color and hook the 10 and 8 year old used). Bad light in the next two photos the ones of my oldest daughter is closer to the actual color of the thread.

The pattern I used can be found here if you want to make it too. If you use tiny thread like size 20 and smaller makes a lovely bookmark as she shows or a real nice delicate lace. But if you use size 10 thread makes a nice heavy weight lace suitable for clothing and linens such as pillows and sheets and table clothes. If you use yarn a lovely scarf. I have over 3 1/2 yards made already of this lace which is the sum of one ball but I plan on making it longer.

The oldest daughters pattern came from leisure arts book 111 easy crochet edgings number 8 in the book.

The middle daughters pattern came out of my head and is posted here.

The youngest tried to make lace like the oldest then we switched hook sizes and yarn sizes to no avail. She is ambidextrous so she kept switching which hand the hook was in as she figured it would feel better in one of the two. The problem with being ambidextrous is that if something is new and awkward she tries it in both hands and doesn't get comfortable with just one hand. We had this issue all school year with her writing she would not pick a hand so she kept bouncing between the two making for messy handwriting as neither hand is very skilled at it. This lead her to a few tears as she wasn't sure why her sisters could get comfortable and not her. So I decided no implements in her hands would be best. Yep finger crocheting miles and miles of chain. She is very proud of herself because in less than thirty minutes her chain was longer than oldest sisters lace and middle sisters strip and even longer than Mae's lace. So she went from tears to boasting about how fast she was with just her hands where every one else had to have something else but not her. I didn't notice that when I took the photo her hand was in the back ground fitting since she is the one doing finger crochet.

Like I said they all can do it just have to find the right tool, pattern, yarn and so forth. In this case chubby fingers, chains, and cotton yarn.

Little hands

So I promised my children if they kept their rooms clean I would give a refresher course to the oldest on how to crochet. It has been 3 years since she did it last, and I would try and teach the youngest two; one I was thinking was about 1 year too young. Well, they did their rooms by the prescribed date so Saturday and Sunday was "Hey, let's drive Mae nuts" in a good way, of course. Nothing like 3 little girls with a thousand questions.

I started with the oldest, my fairy queen; just a refresher course. At first she couldn't remember, but after about 10 to 15 minuets her hands started to remember and it was old hack and on to making lace; that is what she wanted to do.

Next, on to the middle daughter, my ladybug princess. She had not done any crochet before, so she wanted to try lace making first. I thought too big a step, but I let her try. She tried and was frustrated, so at the end of Saturday night she finally let me convince her a simple pattern would be better, and we would pick it up the next day.

So the next day we started again with the middle daughter; this time it was a very simple pattern: chain 7, skip first chain,* sc in next 6 chains, ch 1 turn * repeat between stars all stitches are back loop only making a ripple effect. The rule is, she has to make the entire ball in this pattern; yes, very boring but having taught children before, this gets their hands used to the thread and the hook and the two working together (yep, she started with size 10 bedspread weight thread, hook size 6 steel) . Plus by the time she finishes she will have worked out all tension issues; kids tend to snap threads a lot in the beginning because they are not used to being delicate or manipulating their hands in so many directions all at once. I believe it is very good for coordination to teach a child to crochet. My oldest daughter I had make leprosy bandage as her first project; not only did she learn to crochet, but she did service work, too. But this daughter is the type of person that needs to see results quickly or gets discouraged, so a leprosy bandage was just too wide to show any length very soon. So, she is basically making the header for her next project where she will go on to making a piece of lace. She has a few inches made and has broken her thread once; not too bad.

The last daughter, the butterfly girl, I thought was a little young, but she wanted to learn so I wasn't going to stop her. Her hands and mine are the ones you see throughout this post. We started out and I made a few inches of lace. Then I showed her how the right hand worked, she is ambidextrous so this was interesting. Then I showed her how the left hand worked. Then both together, then she was on her own. She wanted to be like the oldest sister and make lace right off the bat. So I tried with her. Once she saw it was harder than she thought and that one sister had to go to an easier pattern, she was good with switching. Her little hands are just a little too babyish still, meaning the chubby little fingers rub together, and get sweaty easily, not letting the thread slide well. So we decided on my next day off (I think it is Wednesday) we would go up to a bigger hook and yarn and that would be easier for her. Maybe she will make a small doll blanket, Barbie size doll that is. I will post their progress Wednesday night.

I love these photos; some I took, some my middle daughter took, they are of me and the butterfly girl. In time her little hands won't fit inside of mine any more; that will be a happy-sad day. It was fun having her sit in my lap as I looked over her shoulder to show her little hands what to do. I miss being a full-time mom so much it hurts at times. But times like these I am glad I still get little glimpses of what I used to have with my kids. My kids are great and understand what is happening, and we all look forward to mommy-daughter times.

Just a side note: When teaching kids I have learned let them try and over step what you think they can do then have a back up plan so they can continue and feel like they have made progress and not failed. Also remember their different personalities when making projects. Some have more patience than others; take that into account. Lastly, the age of the child my kids are 10, 8 and 6. Coordination usually comes with age or practice. The older two do piano and one has crocheted before and made bobbin lace, another has made Russian needle punch. For the youngest, this is her first time into high-coordinated hand projects. So each has different capabilities due to their age and growth and past experiences; all can do it. I just had to find the right stitches, tools, supplies and project for each.

yoyo+ crochet = WIP dress

This is a work in progress that I work on in the car while my husband drives the first 1 hour of our commute and the last hour at night. So, it only is getting worked on two hours a day or less. When done, this will fit a 24 month/2T-size little girl. I don't have one of those; this is just an experiment with sheer fabric and yarn to try and make an image I had in my head. It needs 4 more yoyos around arm/neck openings. So far it is coming out as I thought it would. It also needs crocheted sleeves and the skirt part finished. The white part is the slip a 24 mos/2T-sized little girl would wear under the dress.

This last photo is not true to color, but it shows you how sheer the yoyos are

All the supplies in this project, from the fabric to the yarn to the thread, came from thrift stores at differnt times.

QA: To answer another question...

I received this email on April 17th:

I just found your web site. I really like it. It seems real, not scripted. :+) I love your work also. :+) I was wondering if you could help me with a pattern in a book you have!!! I can't seem to find anything about it on the web, and don't know any one who crochets. LOL. It is in the crochet year book volume 2, the Granny Girl Purse and Headband. Here is what I am having trouble with..

RND 8: join black to any corner ch-2 sp; ch 1, 5 sc in same sp; *sc in next 21 dc, 5 sc in next corner ch-2 sp; rep from* twice more; sc in next 21 dc; join in first sc.

How do you do 5 sc in that same sp?? It creates a chain, is it supposed to be like that? Or am I doing it wrong? I am at a complete loss with it, and am trying to make this for my niece. I would really appreciate any help you can give me.

Forever,

Jo

I don't know how many have this book but lots make granny squares so here is my answer....
First, if you are not the person in question, I will not post the entire pattern as that would be infringing on the owners copyright. But for explanatory purposes of the question, I left what she had written about round 8 so we would all be on the same page which, in the book, happens to be pages 138-139, and 162-163. The book is from "American school of Needlework" Volume 2 book 1336.

Please excuse the dots of blue paint on my nails and under them; it is from making a floral arrangement yesterday and I have to wait till it wears off. See previous post about work fun.

Ok, on to the question...

First off, on the previous round you only have chains in the corners on the sides of the granny; there are no chains, just sets of 3 dc.

This is different from the previous rounds. Just making sure you have the previous row correct. For some reason for the set up of the edge the author has you sort of decreasing by removing the chains in the previous round. That is a side note back to question.

You slip stitch into the space that the two chains made on the corner; do not slip stitch into any of the chains.

Showing slip stitch to attach to work

The ch1 gets you to the right height for the row to begin and counts as nothing in your pattern; just a height thing.

Showing chain 1 to get to right height.Showing start of first sc in ch 2 space. Also showing crocheting over tail to encapsulate it into the work so you don't have to finish so many threads at the end of your work.

Now, in that same ch 2 space on the same corner where you joined, you are going to place 5 sc around those 2 chains.

Showing all 5 sc in chain 2 space, sorry bad photo.Showing the 5 sc in corner and the first 5 of 21 sc across side of granny square.

The next 21 stitches are in the top of the 7 sets of 3 dc between corners. then you place 5 sc around the next set of ch 2 in the next corner do this all the way around. It isn't forming a chain; it is defining your corners with 2 sc per side and 1 for your corner point.

100 + holes

A few days ago I received a phone call from Heindselman's letting me know they had sent a referral my way for a repair. This is not a new thing; it has happened alot over the past 13 years . They send people to me to repair their vintage items. A few minutes later I received the call from a very nice lady who had a table cloth (wink wink) that had belonged to her grandmother and had been on the dinner table for years at her grandmother's house.

The story goes that the grandmother passed away, and the tablecloth went to the daughter, who was just going to take it to the thrift store because of all the damage to it. Before doing this, she called her own daughter (the granddaughter to the lady who had passed) asking if she wanted it. Yes! was the resounding answer. After contacting Heindelman's and being refereed to me, she called and we had a conversation about said tablecloth. I asked if she was sure it was a tablecloth because most times they are actually bed cloths. She was certain it was. Then, we discussed the damage and when I would travel to her house to see it. After seeing it, I was certain it was a bedspread because it had notches crocheted into it to accommodate bed posts and only had an edging on three sides; definably a bedspread.

I wish I had looked at it a little closer! It has more damage than I thought it did. 100 + holes; to be exact, my estimate on the repair may have been way too low. That has never happened before; usually I am with in 20 dollars of my preliminary estimate. Once I get it home and can asses the damage more, I usually do a follow up estimate. I have yet to work the pattern to see how long it takes, then I have to figure out how long each hole will take to repair, then the cost of supplies. Not to mention I have to figure out the hook size, tension, and match a thread that probably hasn't been made in over 50 years or more. I like challenges like this, and the people who get their family heirlooms back are happy to have them whole again, instead of holey.Old sewing thread repair top left.Holes in the edging in Solomon's knot stitch (also called lovers knot, it has a few more names, too).Holes in mesh stitch around in the edgings.More holes in the edgings.Holes in the center of the medallions in the center of the afghan.

These things are bigger challenges in that other people, over the years, have tried to make homemade repairs in all the wrong ways with sewing thread which cuts through the crochet thread, actually causing more holes in time plus the sewing thread pierces the crochet thread when the needle was stitched through everything to hold it together. This means that I have to either spend lots of time cutting sewing thread, or just cut that section out and spend lots of time re-crocheting a bigger section than if they had just left it alone. Either way, I have my work cut out for me on this one. Enclosed in this post are a few of the holes I get to repair.

The repair to the left isn't sewing thread; it is crochet thread that whoever tried to repair the damaged just kept winding around the stitches. These type of previous repairs are also annoying because it takes forever to unwind that mess. The repair the previous person did is very clunky and big to look at, too; not neat and invisible. I don't make repairs like this.

The center section is made up of squares that are then sewn together (see first picture in post).

Irish crochet bonnet

Progress on the back of the bonnet. There are a few more rounds for the back, and a round of roses (not totally made) for the back still, too, before I get to the brim. Pattern has been updated also.

To answer a question on Irish bonnet

I have had a lot of questions recently on an Irish crochet bonnet pattern I posted a long time ago. I have not ever made all of this pattern so I have not worked through all the nuances of it, yet. I am, as time allows, working through it and redrafting the pattern as I go. I was asked to post photos of the rose in the bonnet. Top photo shows front with the thread and hook I am using; the bottom two photos are showing the back of the rose. I am currently revamping the pattern; it is posted where I have gotten to on that project.

Update for Turkish lace fans

The nice lady who runs the site on Turkish crochet has agreed to let me use her stuff (crochet images); in trade, she gets to use my stuff (patterns and tutorials for this type of lace pulled from her images), as well. So in my spare time I'll be doing that. Ha ha, like I have that; but, I am going to try real hard to find some so I can work on this.

Below are the first set of posts on her blog;some are not lace edgings. Those with stars I will be skipping. The images below are hers, not mine, to show you what I will be working on. I will work on some that are not edgings if it is a simple enough pattern. Because I am not able to hold the lace in my hand, my stitch count may not be the exact as hers because I cannot move the stitches around to see the hidden chains and things of that sort. But, the look will be similar and just as useful.

• round crochet doily1 Dec 22 2007 *
• square doily 1 Dec 23 2007
• crochet edging 1 Dec 24 2007

Turkish lace new site

I was left a comment on one of my oya/turkish lace posts from a lovely person who has a blog all about this type of lace. The patterns are passed down visually, so her patterns are posted in the form of pictures. This means you have to know how to do crochet and special stitches first. I think I can duplicate all of them and make patterns, if the owner of the other blog is willing to let me do this. I will work on this in what little spare time I have to save these patterns into a written language for those who don't know how to pull a pattern visually. I am hoping she will let me. If not, sorry, but please look at her site as there are a lot of lovelies there.
In case the link breaks, here is the site address below:
http://www.turkishcrochet.com/

Crocheted Chapeau for Baby (free pattern)

This pattern comes from the early 1940's: Woolies for Babies

SUPPLIES:

• Chadwick's red heart baby wool, 1 ball (3/4 oz) (ie.. baby yarn wool)
  
• steel crochet hook, no 2/0 (double zero)
• 1 1/2 yards ribbon, 3/4 inch wide
• 2 ribbon rosettes (these you make yourself)

GAUGE: (pattern stitch) 3 shells make 2 inches

PATTERN:
starting at center of back, ch2.

1st rnd: 6 sc in 2nd ch from hook. Do not join rounds.
2nd rnd: 2 sc in each st around (12 sts)
3rd rnd: *sc in next st , 2 sc in next st (an inc). Repeat from * around (18 sts)
4th rnd: *sc in next 2sts , 2 sc in next st. Repeat from * around (24 sts)

Continue thus increasing 6 sts on each rnd until there are 90 sts on the rnd and piece measures 4 1/4 inches from side to side across center.

Now work 1 rnd without increasing, sl st in next st. Ch 1, turn and work back and forth as follows:

1st row: sc in same place as sl st, * make crossed dc's over the next 3 sts- to make dc's , skip 2 sts, dc in back loop of next st, ch3, holding last dc and ch-3 down with left thumb make dc in back loop of first st skipped, sc in st following crossed dc's. Repeat from * until there are 18 crossed dc's ending row with sc in st following last crossed dc.

Remaining sc's are back of neck. Ch 3, turn.

2nd row: Make 5 dc( a shell) in each ch-3 across, end row with dc in last sc. Ch 1 turn.
3rd row: sc in dc, * make crossed dc's over the next 3 sts, sc between shells. Repeat from * across, ending with sc in top st of turning chain. Ch3, turn. Repeat 2nd and 3rd rows alternately until piece measures 4 1/2 inches from last rnd of sc, ending with the 2nd row. Do not fasten off but work sc along lower edge and back of neck, holding edge it to fit (about 9 inches) fasten off.

Finishing...
Run the 3/4-inch ribbon under and over the shells of 1st row on front edge.
Make the ends even for ties and tack ribbon at each side of cap.
Sew on rosettes.


I also suggest fray checking all ribbon raw edges so it can easily go through in the wash without worry of fraying; or you can fold edges of ribbon to a point and stitch down instead to do the same.

There is another bonnet pattern on my blog in a real old post if you want to make that one instead. Warning the other uses size 100 thread and is an Irish crochet bonnet.

Flower bonnet

I actually worked yesterday; just didn't take any photos. Fridays are our crazy-busy day, we have shipments come in from the airport which take a lot of work to get out of the boxes and into buckets so the blooms can open up for use. We got some real pretty hydrangeas in; oh, so pretty. But like I said, it is our busy day so no photos.

I do have a picture of another bonnet I have started, the red striped one I have finished crocheting, it just doesn't have its embellishments yet. This new bonnet has a flower on it. Not just any old flower; well I guess it is any old flower. I found this flower inside a ball of thread while junking. The flower wasn't even in the same color thread as the ball it was tucked into. As a result, I don't have matching thread to make more of it. So, I set it aside 'till I could figure out what to do with just one flower. I just love little found treasures such as this.

With all the flower posts and bonnet posts lately, it seamed fitting I should combine the two. So I pulled out this random old flower and gave it a few green rows to look like leaves, then started to work on it with cream. I decided I like the back of the bonnet with a hex look, so that will be carried on into this bonnet, too. I also like the stripes of the other bonnets so, that will be carried on into this bonnet, as well. The stripes will be cream and green. The same green I used for the leaves in hopes it will pull the back of the bonnet and the sides of the bonnet together.

VINTAGE DRESS PATTERN

preciouspet, originally uploaded by sunshine's creations.

I am wondering how many would be interested in this pattern. I am thinking of making it available in my store for purchase after I have finished revamping the pattern a little bit to make it a little more modern in length. That is because in the late 1930's and early 1940's, little girls always wore bloomers and such, and so dresses were a little shorter to show off the bloomers.

Just an FYI my husband (and a tiny tiny bit by me) did all the twiking on this picture and added all the touches of color to it. Red ribbons, yellow pencil, and, hard to tell, but green eyes, too.

Waiting for kids

When I am in the car waiting to pick up my kids and husband from work, I have been trying to do a little hand work. The red and cream one is my current project. I don't feel like I am making much progress on these at all. They will be cute whenever they finally make it to the complete state of being. Most of the thread in these is vintage and some have a little age in their color; I personally think it adds to their charm of looking like something made in days gone bye.

Baby Caps

I am still making caps; none of these are totally finished because they still need ribbons and embellishments. The yellow and cream is still being crocheted. I plan on making a lot of these in the future to have in the store. I want to get a wide variety of colors, styles, and prices. I hope to have about a dozen or more in the store by the end of the month, hopefully more. They are all different sizes in the photo, to fit different aged babies.

New and Old

So I am making some baby bonnets in between job hunting and filling out resumes. Some of the thread in these is vintage, such as the green and cream and some is new, the variegated blues. I think they will be real cute when done. I incorporated one of the hexes from the thrifted afghans that I have been using to make skirts and shirts. You can see it on the back of the green and cream baby bonnet. I used green in one just because St.Patrick's Day is coming up, and I am not one to say boys have to wear blue and girls pink; a few other colors are always nice, too. The piece of crochet you are seeing under the bonnets is the hex skirt from the same afghan.

Hex Adult Shirt

This is the size small adult shirt. I have made actually two of these, one for me and one for the store. This is a pull-over top. This shirt is the same as the skirt in that it is not lined to give you ease in matching your clothes for the day; just wear a camisole or tank top of your choice in color. I think it has a soft feminine touch with jeans or a skirt. When paired with the matching crocheted skirt, it has a real nice 1950's starlet look.