On Mar 17, 2005, at 8:53, [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Christina) wrote:
My favorite project is bookmarks..but I have problems with the ends. My braids just don't come out right! Any suggestions on books that give directions on making nice braids and tassels.
If, by "braids" you mean what's also known as "plaits" (a concoction made by two pairs of bobbins), then you don't really need a book on the subject :)
Start with a cloth stitch (CTC). Stop, tension gently (don't want to "scrunch" it up) but firmly - down and outwards. Now, forget all you've learnt about starting a stitch with a C... *T both pairs, and make a C. Tension (gently, but firmly)*. Repeat *to* as many times as necessary. The trick is in tensioning the pairs *untwisted* (aka "open method"), after the C, not after the T.
Can't help with tassels; on the few occasions I used that method of finishing, I just left the threads (no longer wound on bobbins) long, then used an overhand knot, hoping for luck :) Except for WIndrose #1 (IOLI Bulletin 24/; Summer '04), where I'd done something a bit different, and not entirely satisfactory.
I did buy a book on tassels, but it's a whole new ball-game, and one could spend a lot of time learning how to make pretty ones; I'd rather make lace, and am keeping the book for its "drool factor"... :)
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Tamara P Duvall http://t-n-lace.net/
Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland)
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