Antique Lace Adventures

Today, I am in a lace mood.

If we're being completely honest, I've been in a lace mood for weeks. And nothing satiates my hunger for lace like some good shuttle tatting. In the interest of working on my Dream Fairy costume, I thought I'd look for some nice antique tatting patterns to use as edgings. Due to the pandemic, I can't go browse the stacks of my university's library like I'd like to, but archive.org is really just as good an option. There are dozens of handcraft/needlecraft books available there in the time period I'm interested in, so needless to say I was in heaven searching through it all. 

One of the books I found most interesting was Beeton's Book of Needlework, an instructional guide for knitting, crochet, tatting, netting, and embroidery published in the year 1870. The instructions are quite detailed, and it has dozens of patterns for each craft. I tried out four of the tatted edging patterns, to see if any would be appropriate for my costume.

Friends, I don't know if you've ever read 150-year-old instructions for anything before, but things change. Especially the terminology. Most of the techniques (for tatting at least) are pretty similar to what I've learned as a 21st-century crafter, but I had to relearn a lot of the terms in order to read these patterns. Plus, the Victorians were not shy about mixing crafts. Something like half of the tatting patterns have you grab a crochet hook at one point or another.

Not that I mind that. I always have my hooks handy!

In the interest of making these beautiful old patterns more accessible to modern tatters, I've written up my own interpretations of them below. BIG DISCLAIMER: I am not a historian, and I have no expertise whatsoever in interpreting historical patterns. I am, in fact, a computational biologist, which I'm pretty sure is about as far removed from historical lacemaking as anything conceivably could be. So if you care about historical accuracy, take my interpretations with a big grain of salt. With that said, let's get on to the patterns. 

Note: All samples were worked in Lisbeth size 40 cotton thread. A 0.75 mm hook was used for the crochet sections. Crochet instructions use US terminology.

No 3 – Lace Edging in Tatting

 

Tatting Section:

 

Wind shuttle, and do not cut thread from ball.

 

*R 10 ds, p, 10 ds, cl r. Turn work.

Ch 8 ds, p, 8 ds. Turn work.

R 10 ds, j to p of previous ring, 10 ds, cl r. *

 

Repeat until edging is desired length, then cut and tie.

 

Crochet Section:

 

Ch 1, sc into picot of first tatted chain, * ch 6, sc into picot of next tatted chain*

 

Repeat between * until all picots have been worked. Tie off. Weave in ends.

 

 

No 4 – Lace Edging in Tatting

 

Tatting Section:

 

Wind shuttle, and do not cut thread from ball.

 

* R 10 ds, p, 10 ds, cl r.

R 10 ds, p, 10 ds, cl r. Turn work.

Ch 12 ds, p, 4 ds, j to p of previous ring, 4 ds, p 12 ds. Turn work.

R 10 ds, j to p of previous ring (the same p that you just joined the chain to), 10 ds, cl r.

R 10 ds, j to p of the first ring, 10 ds, cl r. *

 

Repeat until edging is desired length, then cut and tie.

 

Crochet Section:

 

Ch 1, sc into picot of first tatted chain, ch 4, sc into picot of second tatted chain, * ch 6, sc into picot of next tatted chain, ch 4, sc into picot of next tatted chain *

 

Repeat between * until all picots have been worked. Tie off. Weave in ends.

 

 

No 5 – Border in Tatting with Crochet Edging

Tatting Section:

 

Wind shuttle, and cut thread.

 

R 9 ds, cl r. Turn work.

Leave approx. 1/6 in (0.4 cm) between previous ring and next ring.

R 4 ds, p, 3, ds, p, 3 ds, p, 3 ds, p, 3 ds, p, 4 ds, cl r. Turn work.

* Leave approx. 1/6 in (0.4 cm) between previous ring and next ring.

R 9 ds, cl r. Turn work.

Leave approx. 1/6 in (0.4 cm) between previous ring and next ring.

R 4 ds, j to last p of previous large ring, 3, ds, p, 3 ds, p, 3 ds, p, 3 ds, p, 4 ds, cl r. Turn work. *

 

Repeat between * until edging is the desired length, then cut and tie.

 

Crochet Section:

 

Row 1: Ch 1, sc into first small tatted ring, *ch 6, sc into next small tatted ring* Repeat between * until all rings have been worked. Ch 2, turn work.

Row 2: Dc into first st of previous row * ch 1, skip st, dc into next st * Repeat between * until end of row. Ch 2, turn work.

Row 3: Repeat the Decorative Edge Stitch (see below) to the end of the row, ending on a dc.

 

Tie off. Weave in ends.

 

No 6 – Border in Tatting and Crochet

 

Tatting Section:

 

Wind shuttle, and cut thread.

 

R 4 ds, p, 3 ds, p, 3 ds, p, 3 ds, p, 3 ds, p, 4 ds. Close ring partially, leaving about 1/8 in (0.3 cm) open.

* Leave approx. 1/8 in (0.3 cm) between previous ring and next ring.

R 3 ds, j to last p of previous ring, 3 ds, j to second to last p of previous ring , 4 ds, p, 4 ds, p, 3 ds, p, 3 ds, cl r.

Leave approx. 1/8 in (0.3 cm) between previous ring and next ring.

R 4 ds, j to last p of previous ring, 3 ds, j to second to last p of previous ring, 3 ds, p, 3 ds, p, 3 ds, p, 4 ds. Close ring partially, leaving about 1/8 in (0.3 cm) open. *

 

Repeat between * until edging is the desired length, then cut and tie.

 

Crochet Section:

 

Row 1: Ch 1, 3 sc into first partially closed ring, * 3 sc into next space between rings, 3 sc into next space between rings, 3 sc into next partially closed ring * Repeat between * until all rings and spaces have been worked. Ch 2, turn work.

Row 2: Dc into first st of previous row * ch 1, skip st, dc into next st * Repeat between * until end of row. Ch 2, turn work.

Row 3: Repeat the Decorative Edge Stitch (see below) to the end of the row, ending on a dc.

 

Tie off. Weave in ends.

 

 

Decorative Edge Stitch:

 

Dc into next stitch.

 

Remove hook, leaving a live loop.

Without picking up live loop, insert hook into next stitch and draw up a loop.

Chain 1.

 

Note: It is possible for the dropped loops to unravel if pulled. To prevent this, thread a piece of scrap string/yarn through each loop after the stitch is completed. When attaching the edging, make sure that each loop is secured to the base fabric.

On a Wing and a Prayer

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over years of crafting, it’s this: prototype, prototype, prototype. Sewing a garment? Make a mockup. Knitting or crocheting? Gauge swatch. Using a new skill or technique? Get out your scrap yarn/fabric to test it out! Seriously, you won’t regret working the kinks out on a prototype before you start the full project. And the newer the skill, the less you know going in, the more important testing is!

 

My Dream Fairy costume is going to be chock-full of new skills and experiences for me, so prototypes are going to be a must. Drafting, historical hand-stitching, interpreting antique knitting and tatting patterns... the list goes on and on. And at the very top of the list, are the all-important fairy wings.

 

These won’t be just any fairy wings, either. No, they will be handmade lace wings. You see, I am what the youth call “extra”. It may not be obvious at first glance (I am also deceptively sneaky, as many a surprised friend will attest), but I just live to be able to whip out something gloriously over-the-top and unnecessary. Why make plain old fairy wings when I could spend dozens of hours with a 0.75 mm crochet hook? Of course, shenanigans like this require planning, and the construction of at least one prototype. I’ve decided to share my process and thoughts here, partly in case anyone else wants inspiration for similar endeavors, and partly so that my notes on what goes well and what goes poorly don’t just disappear into the recesses of my brain, never to be seen again. (Also this is my crafting blog? If I’m not writing about my crafts, then what’s this whole business even for?)

 

I should stress before we begin: this is not a tutorial. I do not know what I am doing. You’re more than welcome to try making your own pair of ridiculous lace wings along with me, but don’t think that anything I do will actually work as intended!

 

Disclaimers out of the way, let’s start with a bit of research. I’ve never seen anyone make fairy wings covered in handmade lace before, but there are plenty of fairy wings to be had all over the Internet. Construction usually follows the same basic pattern: build an armature out of wire, and cover it with your wing material of choice. The armature is then attached to a series of straps that affixes it to the wearer’s back, or else it’s tucked into a rigid support garment like a corset. I don’t have plans to make a corset at the moment (though it certainly wouldn’t be out of place for this costume), so straps it is!

 

Before we get there, though, we need some wings. I’m lifting my design straight off of the real-life luna moth, since Mother Nature is my all-time favorite designer. A nice, head-on image of the moth works as a perfect base.

 

 

 I only have enough wire on hand to make one wing, so let’s use the upper left wing as the test. I scaled the image up to human-size and traced it out onto paper. That served as a guide for bending the wire into shape. I still needed something to keep track of the inner details of the wing, though, so I grabbed some spare netting, stitched the wire frame onto it, and used some cotton crochet thread to mark where the details ought to go.

 

 

Some quick crocheting around the wire covered up the metal and created a good surface on which to anchor the lace. Color didn’t matter for this prototype, but I couldn’t just use any clashing hues at random. I still had to spend time looking at it after all! So I swapped green and maroon for an equally pleasing blue and white palette.

 

Next came putting in the eye-spot and veins. For the spot, I used a scaled-up version of Julia Hart’s Peacebloom. To make the veins, all I had to do was crochet some slip-stitch cording and sew it to the crochet-covered wire. A few pins stuck in the mesh backing help the veins retain their soft curves. Lastly, to complete the base I crocheted a rough mesh into the top white section of the wing. This is going to get covered up later, so it doesn’t have to be neat!

 

 

Moving right along: lace! Specifically, lace netting. I had a bit of yarn left over from a previous project (points if anyone can figure out which one!) that’s the same weight as the pale green yarn I plan to use for the final wings. I took a few pages from the Irish lace playbook for this, since a big part of that practice involves filling irregular empty spaces with netting. There are loads of netted fills to choose from, so I picked a few different staples to try out.

 

For the curious, the fills are as follows from the top: basic netting, trellis netting, netting with the Clones knot, dense basic netting, and netting with picots. The last three panels are just a repeat of the first three. Originally, I thought I’d pick whichever one fill I liked best and use that over the whole wing, but I think I rather prefer the look of all the different ones next to each other. The things we discover while prototyping!

 

At long last, I could remove the mesh backing. I was rather looking forward to being done with that thing, since it’s a bit difficult to crochet with one side of the work completely blocked off from you! Clipping the basting threads was a bit nerve-wracking, what with all my handmade lace mere millimeters away, but I got through it without incident. The wing was looking good, but it wasn’t quite finished yet. No, it needed flowers! Dozens of little blooms worked in white crochet thread. I tried out a bunch of different flower patterns for this, and my standout favorites were Tiny Peony by Picot Pals and Poppy by Vera Matrebo. I also made a bunch of super basic generic flowers that I didn’t really need a pattern for. All of these were worked separately, and then stitched onto the white net part of the wing with a tapestry needle.

 

There were so. Many. Flowers. So many. I expected the lace to take a while, but I’m pretty sure the flowers took just as long. It was, however, also very much worth it. Just look!

 

Last but not least, we need a way to wear the wing(s)! I had plans for this one, y’all. I drew diagrams and schematics. I contemplated materials. I... didn’t do a very good job. I suppose something had to give in this project, and it might as well be the supports.

 

Let’s go over what doesn’t work very well, so that next time it will be better. I designed this apparatus a bit like a bra, with an elastic band going round the wearer’s midsection and two straps on the shoulders. But rather than having two cups in the front, there’s one reinforced flat panel in the back, made of a piece of plastic sheeting sandwiched between muslin layers. The end bit of the wire is bent into a loop and sewn onto the muslin. In order to get an idea of what would happen when all four wings were in place, I added a few extra bits of wire to make little stubby wing-loops. The final result makes me want to read a story about a fairy born with only one wing, and her adventures out in the big wide world...

 

...anyway, back to crafts. The strap system... works... sort of. It’s not very stable, but it will hold the wings up, and I can get it on and off. That’s about all I can say for it, though. Honestly, it’s making me seriously consider adding a corset to this project, just to avoid the strap-nightmare this could easily become.

 

 

(Bad photo, but you get the idea. It’s really hard to photograph this delicate apparatus while I’m wearing it!)

 

And there you have it, the prototype! All in all, I think it was pretty successful. My basic idea works! I’m glad to have had some practice with the crocheted netting and making all those little flowers. As for the things I would change, here’s the list:

 

·      Wire choice. I used what I had lying around, which was 2.5 mm aluminum wire, and it was just a hair too flimsy. Next time, I’ll use 3 mm wire, or maybe I’ll swap aluminum out for the strength of steel.

·      Eye-spots. As much as I love Peacebloom, I don’t think the pattern works well here. The way it’s constructed makes it easy to pull out of shape, and it didn’t hold up well to the tension involved in making the netting. I have to find a bit of a sturdier motif to replace it.

·      Flower color. The flowers at the top of the wing turned out beautifully, but it’s a little difficult to distinguish petals and shapes in that sea of blooms. I might try my hand out at a bit of dyeing to make some of the flowers slightly darker, or give them a gradient effect to improve contrast and make it easier to see each individual blossom.

 

Clearly a bit more testing is in order. Sometimes one prototype just isn’t enough! (Though I think I won’t be making another full wing before the final project). Before I can do that, though, I need more materials, so it will have to wait for order to ship. There’s plenty else to do with this costume, though, so stay tuned for that! I think I’m in the mood for some tatting next...

 

Stay well everyone, and until next time, stay crafty!