a little correction, flat pillows is allso used on the continentel, not just
an english phenomenon, and we use the same terminology as ctct hole/double
stich, here in Denmark
Dorte
Hi Jenny,
You have jumped into the world of lacemaking terms
with both feet. We're all there with you. I hope
this may help sort it out.
There are two schools of bobbin lacemaking -- the
Continental Method and the English Method.
The English terminology is:
Half Stitch CT
Whole Stitch CTC
Double Stitch CTCT (or Whole stitch plus a twist)
The Continental terminology is:
Half stitch TC
Cloth or Linen stitch CTC
Whole Stitch TCTC
You can see why there is confusion about the term
"whole stitch". Because of this, there are many
modern lacemakers who have chosen to use --
Half stitch
Cloth stitch
Double stitch
--as the terms for the three stitches.
However, you need to understand both sets of
terminology so you can interpret whatever book you
happen to choose to use. There are books written with
both methods. (A brief note -- the term 'throw' means
stitch. It's an older term and not used much now.)
You may have noticed that the stitches T and C are not
in the same order in the two methods. The English
method is CT for half stitch, which ends each stitch
with the two threads of a pair twisted. This is
called the Closed Method.
The Continental methods is TC for half stitch, which
ends each stitch with the two threads of a pair
hanging straight down. This is the Open Method. If
you think about making lace on a bolster pillow, the
bobbins hang down when not in use. If they had a
twist on them, they would untwist as they hung. The
Twist first is necessary on this type of pillow.
The English laces are mostly worked on flat pillows
with the bobbins lying supported. The Twist stitch
will hold it's position when not being used.
It may be hard to believe, but there's no way to tell
which method was used when the lace is completed. A
section of half stitch usually starts and ends with a
twist. When doing CT, an extra twist is added at the
start. When doing TC, an extra twist is added at the
end. The result with both methods looks exactly the
same.
I hope I haven't confused you completely. You need to
know that there's more than one way to talk about
lacemaking, and more than one way to do most things.
Choose one method to work on now, and don't worry
about the other one. You may or may not ever try it.
My experience has been that most people continue with
the method their first teacher taught them.
Happy lacing,
Alice in Oregon -- only 3 months till PNW Conference
and there's still room in some classes. Check the
Portland Lace Society webpage.
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