Saturday, March 31, 2012

Antique of the Week

This collar is generously shared by Myra W.  She added this to her collection recently and has taken great detail photos for us!  Double click on the image to enlarge.


This is a detail of the pretty flower motif on the collar.



If you have any antiques to share, please send your photos to Kim at irishcrochettogether@gmail.com

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Translation–Hardouin Volume 1, No. 4, La Pensee

Pansy

Materials
No 40 thread: Coats, DMC, Lizbeth etc
1.00mm hook
No 10 thread for padding cord
Can be worked in any size thread from No 10 to No 80, with appropriate hook and padding cord
English terminology
Standard abbreviations
pc=padding cord
Downloaded from http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org
Worth a look to print out the photo, even if you don’t want the French text.






Wind the padding cord twice round the handle of a crochet hook, pencil etc.
Pick up working thread and make a slip stitch. Remove wraps carefully and work 38-40 trebles over the pc, ss into first dc to close the ring.
(Note: Mme Hardouin recommends a special treble when working over pc: work off 1 loop, then 3 loops. As she says, it covers the pc better.)
Working through both loops of each stitch over padding cord:

1st Crescent 10 dc over the first 10 stitches on the ring,
40 stitches on pc alone, turn the work back (to the right – see photo) and attach with pc by doing a dc in the first of the 10 stitches that you have just done on the ring - work the dc through both loops of the stitch.
(You will need to twist the 40sts/pc so that the top of the sts face outward – see photo)
Drop the padding cord, turn, and over the 40 sts on the pc:
1dc, 1htr, 36 tr, 1htr, 1dc, turn
Repeat this row.
Pick up the pc again, working 1dc into the same place where pc was dropped,
10dc over the first 8 dc of the crescent.
Then make 6 picots with 5 sts between.
Finish with dc in the rest of the stitches, increasing by 2 sts.
Before beginning this last row it is vital to tighten the pc so that the crescent will lie flat, otherwise your motif will not have a good shape.

 2nd Crescent
Again work 10 dc on the centre and begin the 2nd crescent with 40dc on the pc, turn and attach with 1dc to the 12th stitch of the 1st crescent. Turn and do 1 row of 3ch 1dc in the 2nd, turn and do a 2nd row the same, putting the hook into each hole; do 2 rows more, making a total of 4 rows of net. Take up the pc again, make 4dc in the 1st two holes, then alternately 2dc, 1 picot, 2dc and 4dc. After the 7th picot work 4dc in the remaining holes.

3rd Crescent Do 10dc into the ring and make a 3rd crescent like the 1st, attach to the 12th stitch of the 2nd crescent. After this last crescent, do a few sts on the ring with the pc, and do the stalk by working 60 dc on the pc and returning with trebles, still on the pc. Join the stalk to the ring, make a crown and a few dc more on the remaining sts of the ring. Cut and finish off the pc by stitching under the 1st crescent.Crown:  Dc over pc with a picot every 5 or 6 stitches. It is attached to the motif only once, about halfway round the motif, opposite the stem.
Translated by Sally M.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Antique of the Week

Generously shared by Heather C., who says:
"The collar was bought three years ago from a seller in England. The size of the individual motifs, the density of their spacing and the look of the knots on the brides of the ground suggest a Clones connection. Outlining motifs after they were made, using a cord of constant diameter, is a variation of Venetian raised lace that is ascribed to the Spanish. (Reference: Pollen, Mrs J.H. [M.M.], 1908, Seven Centuries of Lace, William Heinemann, London. Plate LIII. Book available at  http://www.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/books.html "
The date of the collar is unknown.  Any theories on the date of the piece are welcome in the comments below!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Translation-Hardouin Volume 1, No. 8, Le Pneu

I used a #14 hook with #80 thread over two strands of #10 for the PC. Diameter of my flower is about 1.5 inches.
Rough Translation: (UK terms in parentheses) 
Make a circle with the PC by winding it around your hook shaft 25 or 30 times. (I wound it maybe 12 times)
R1:Fill the circle with as many sc (dc) as possible.
R2: Ch5, 1tr (dtr) in stitch, ch1, 1 tr (dtr) in next stitch, repeat italicised directions around, finishing with ch1, slip stitch into 4th chain of beginning 5ch.
R3: Over PC, 3 sc (dc) in each ch1 space.
R4: Over PC, work the spirals. Make a loop with the cord, working 20 sc (dc) around loop. Make one sc (dc) in the stitch below, tighten loop and make 4 sc (dc), skip 3 sc (dc) make one sc (dc) in the stitch below. Repeat italicised directions, spiraling around. Stop when you have 10 open stitches, now make the stem. You shouldn’t have to turn the PC. This round was confusing for me, so I am not sure if I’ve explained it correctly, but the result is nice :)
Stem: Continue, on the PC only, 75 sc (dc), making a loop halfway down and securing it with a slipstitch. ch2, turn and sc (dc) back up the stem, working around the loop, securing with a slipstitch, finishing at the top, with a couple of sc (dc) on the flower round.
By Kim

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

How did we get here?

We are a group of virtual friends that met mostly through the fabulous knitting and crocheting community, Ravelry.com.  If you've never seen Ravelry, take a look!  We are lucky to have some of the leading experts on Irish Crochet among us.  We will be posting about current projects, museum pieces and modern works of Irish Crochet.  Join us for CAL's (crochet-a-longs) to learn new skills.  Check here for translations of French and Japanese Irish Crochet patterns.  If you don't see it, ask!  We want to provide a learning environment full of pretty images and information.