Crochet Lace: Your Great Great Grandma's Crochet

Crochet lace is one of the most beautiful forms of crochet, particularly when applied to the shawl or wrap.  There are so many new patterns, like Evan Plevinski's Elise shawl that I completed last month and Vicki Mikulak's Flying Diamonds lace shawl that I crocheted as my Falling Leaves shawl last summer. My most recent Finished Object: Tealiscious Half-Granny Square lace shawl trimmed with a lace edging modified from a chart by MyPicot.com. The yarn is KnitPicks Bare --Merino Wool Fingering Yarn dyed in a bath of Shapna Organic Black Tea that has a wonderful red undertone. A traditional, lacey crochet pattern enhanced by a great lace edging.

A search of Ravelry's patterns reveals more than 925 crochet lace shawl patterns, just one-sixth of the slightly more than 5,420 knit lace shawl patterns. Thankfully, the number of crochet lace patterns is growing as many contemporary crocheters look past their grandma's crochet to explore the historical application of our art.

Piecework Magazine celebrates and expresses, through its articles and projects, historic and ethnic fabric-related handwork. Lace figures prominently in this effort. For the past three years, Piecework has featured lace in its May/June issue. For many lace lovers, these issues are a goldmine, filled with the history of lace and modern updates for replicating some of the lace. Unfortunately, it's a knitter's goldmine. Crochet is conspicuous by its relative absence.

A quick perusal of the index of the three Piecework issues reveals five crochet-related articles -- one about replicating Laura Ingalls Wilders filet crochet doily, one using painter's tape to help keep loops small and consistent, one about Maltese lace versus Maltese crochet (i.e., hairpin lace), and two about a Crochet Lace challenge to replicate an edging. There also was an article about "crochet tatting" but for the life of me, I don't know how one would confuse a tatting shuttle with a crochet hook. Three issues but only two patterns.

The three annual lace issues featured articles that illustrate the history of a certain technique or style of lace -- intricate Orenburg lace, lace bonnets from the Netherlands, and the story of Herbert Niebling (the grand master of lace knitting!). No stories about the Mlle. Riego de la Branchardiere, who published patterns to replicate raised Spanish needle lace. No articles abaout Cassandra Hand, wife of the local Church of Ireland minister who introduced Clones lace in 1847 as a famine relief scheme. No stories about the role pineapple lace has played in home arts. In the spirit of openess and transparency, in 1993, 1997, and 2005, Piecework had included a few articles about Irish lace. But nothing more recent than that.

Admittedly, modern crochet, which dates to the early 1800s, is a relative newcomer to the realm of needle arts when compared to other handwork, such as knitting and embroidery. Yet, many contemporary fiber artists and designers endeavor to keep these arts alive, such as Doris Chan and her larger than life adaptation of pineapple lace to wearables, and Lisa Naskrent whose Dragonfly and Maia lace shawls seem to have a life of their own. Although my own lace shawls are not as intricate, I would hope that soomeday, my efforts (Bird of Paradise Shawl of my design) will, in some small way, help people recognize and celebrate the beauty that crochet lace is.

Perhaps it's best to let pictures do the talking. Olga Litvina, a Russian crocheter took a Japanese doily pattern and created this masterpiece!

I'll say it again. Crochet lace is one of the most beautiful forms of crochet.

Tippets Galore -- Busting some stash!

To paraphrase all the Leisure Arts how-to-craft books, I can't believe I'm crocheting! Actually, I took back the hook with a vengence about a couple of weeks ago. Since then, I have completed six small projects, just to test out my arm, albeit with baby steps.

I have three active swaps on Ravelry, two of which require a handcrafted item. The holidays are fast approaching, as are birthdays for a few friends. Of course, I could sew up a few gifts but just couldn't think of anything I wanted to make. I started looking at yarn in my stash for inspiration -- determined was I to not buy any new yarn -- I seem to be going up rather than down. I also looked at one-skein patterns that called out for similar yarn. I stalked projects completed by other ravelers within the discussion groups I subscribe to. I searched for simple yet elegant patterns. And I found this wonderful neck scarf by Lion Brand Yarn. Forget the official pattern picture because I saw what other Ravelrs did with the pattern and they are wow!

Some folks call these neck warmers or mufflers -- I like what the Brits call them -- tippets -- a stole or scarf-like narrow piece of clothing, worn around the arms and above the elbow but I like the short version that closes at the neck. Each scarf took about three to four hours to complete, including weaving in the inevitable loose ends and sewing on the buttons. My models were getting tired of repeatedly trying on the scarves as I sought to position buttons and pins.

My first attempt was this blue mohair muffler made from Kartopu's Eva, a lapis blue mohair acrylic boucle blend (what a mouthful, try saying that fast 10 times). Yet, I couldn't deal with the flower although the brown and purple version crafted by Sia on Ravelry is what inspired me to even attempt the pattern. Instead of the flower, I paired this with three tiny pearl buttons that just peep through to make their presence known. I gifted my mohair blue neck warmer to a friend for her birthday (a very active and youthful 50th). Perfect timing because the weather had taken a steep dip as we all struggle to stay warm during our morning commutes.

My second version of this pattern was this vintage-inspired "tippet" made of Dalegarn's Heilo in pine. I trimmed the scarf with the bit of James Brett's Marble in Moss leftover in my stash, recently frogged from my first serious attempt at making a scarf in stockinette stitch (which I never finished because I couldn't find another skein in this colorway). So, there really wasn't much left to do anything with so trim it had to be. Rather than a flower, I added a pewter button and a second row of shells. I love how it turned out. It can be worn several ways:








I hope my Vintage swap spoilee likes it as much as I like her work. In fact, it was her tiny tippet that inspired me to look for something in crochet.

My third is this soft Chilean cotton neck warmer (see the top of this post), again without a flower. The beauty of this hand-dyed cotton is accented by Naturally Caron's Country trim. The vintage brown button is the final touch. I couldn't believe how incredibly soft this yarn is. I love to work in cotton because it really shows off crochet stitch definition. Yet sometimes, I miss the easy drape that comes with working in soft wool or high quality viscose. Araucania Pategonia Nature Cotton is a dream -- you get softness, texture, stitch definition, and wonderful color. Can you tell I like this yarn and want to get some more?

My fourth version of this pattern is the furthest from the original. Done in an unknown blue acrylic with intermitten twists of yellow, green, or turquoise strands, it forgoes the shells to focus on the form. It's kind of militaristic is style with a pointed collar and round epaulets that form the front of the scarf. Made with a blue yarn reminiscent of I don't know what but it is soft. This was a find in the skeins without a label bin at my LYS. I had hopes it was a James Brett Marble but don't really think so anymore.

My last two quick projects weren't scarves or tippets. Rather, the theme was things inspired by tea. I made this "tea towel" and tea cup cozy for one of my secret box buddies. Luckily, she doesn't know it is me so I can blog all I want about it because only I and the swap moderator know who she is. Both items were made using the split single crochet stitch (SSC) which produces a stitch that is reminiscent of the knitted stockinette stitch. The yarn was TLC Cotton Plus in white and dusty pink, leftover from my Delta-in-Training dress.

So, I'm on the mend, ready to tackle bigger projects. But, I like the tippets and want to explore the split crochet stitch even more. Next time in sock weight yarn or possibly DK. I wonder if it will look good done up in half double crochet or even, dare I say, double crochet? Hmmmm. Off to explore.