Jenny Brandis' Handcrafts


February 2007 lace

This month I have been concentrating on getting my portfolio organised (see here) and best of all, I have started to make a garter for my sister to wear to her wedding in August.

The inspiration for the pattern was the garter designed by Louise Colgan in her Wedding Lace Portfolio available from Vansciver Bobbin Lace (US) and Roseground (England) and made by JanM of Gumlace fame. There are differences but the most obvious difference is that the ribbon insertion area is done differently.

12th February
I am only 27 cm (10.5 inches) into making it so have a way to go, but to show the WIP - here it is

Click here to see the work

and a closeup is here

The finished lace can be seen here

 

18th February
Revisited the Grids page as I had realised that I might not be alone in trying to work out what thread would work with a particular pricking I had, especially when the pricking did not have a grid size or thread recommendation with it.

I measured along 11 footside pinholes, divided the answer by 10 to give the distance between 2 footside pins.

I wrote the Torchon Lace Assistance chart where I could look up what size graph it was and what thread size (wraps per centremetre) was recommended for it.

I then went to Brenda Paternoster's Threads for Lace, Edition 7 to find out what threads have that particular wpc. Please note that Brenda's book has reached Edition 7 by early 2019.

Voila!

There is also a PDF file I put together called WPC to Grid Chart that makes it easier for me to know what size grid will work with a particular WPC thread.

You can also use the Torchon Lace Assistance Chart based on known information such as :

  • Existing pricking - find out what thread is recommended
  • Existing thread - find out what pricking or graph paper is recommended
  • Graph Paper - find out what size pricking and thread

Personally, I use the Excel spreadsheet to calculate the size to photocopy the pattern to match the threads I have.

In the meantime: I am still working on the garter mentioned at the top of the page, I have got 12 inches (30cm) done so far :)

 

 


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