30. Knife Pleated Edging

After an August hiatus (while I settled into a new job and tended to other matters), our parade of Victorian designs returns with the only non-lace pattern in the sample book. "Knife Pleated Edging" features a knit-and-purl texture and uses short rows to create the pleats.

Like 5. Knitted Trimming the sample had a tendency to curve as it was knit. Since the pleats had more rows than the upper edge, the lower area wanted to fan out before blocking.

However, unlike the earlier pattern, where blocking straight would have obscured the lace pattern, bringing the upper edge of this design in line enhanced the pleated effect. I blocked the same sample two ways. First, without stretching the fabric in either direction, I pinned the upper edge in a straight line and pinned the pleats in place directly below. This maximized the depth of the folds.

Then I reblocked the edging, gently stretching the width and height. This version highlighted the knit/purl surface design.

While most modern short row instructions call for "wrap and turn"--- i.e., at the end of the short row: 1) bring yarn forward, 2) slip the next stitch, 3) yarn back, 4) return slipped stitch to left needle before turning the work--- to prevent a gap in the knitting, the sample book makes no mention of the technique. I knit my swatch of the pattern as written, simply turning the work with three stitches unworked and proceeding to the next row. The resulting holes are fairly small and are noticeable only when the sample was blocked stretched out. In this case, they can serve as a design feature, offsetting the lower pleats from the narrow band along the upper edge.

You can download the full-size chart, verbal instructions and notes here.

Next week: Aunt Mary's Lace

29. Smyrna Lace

"Smyrna Lace" is a classic: diamonds framed by two rows of eyelets. One stitch is added every other row in the first half of the pattern, and then the added stitches are worked off in the same way in the second half, forming a gently scalloped lower edge. Unlike most of the patterns we have seen, only one stitch is worked into each double yarn over on the subsequent row.

You can download the full-size chart, verbal instructions and notes here.

Glancing at the chart one might expect all-pattern knitted lace (aka knitted lace) as discussed in the 12. Tunician Lace post, because both right-side and wrong-side rows employ yarn overs to form the design. However, Smyrna Lace falls into the alternating-pattern knitted lace category (aka lace knitting). A closer examination of the chart reveals that the eyelets above the diamond motifs are worked on wrong-side rows and the eyelets below the diamonds are worked on the right side. In the first half of a given row the yarn overs (lower eyelets or upper eyelets) of the previous row are knitted across plain, and in the second half of the row new yarn overs create the other part of the pattern. Thus instead of separate pattern rows and plain-knit rows, each row serves both functions.

Despite having been knit with the same yarn and needles as all the other samples, this one strikes me as looser, stretchier, perhaps due to the double yarn overs being worked as single stitches.

Next Week: Knife Pleated Edging

28. Lemon Seed Lace

"Lemon Seed Lace" features diamonds flanked by faggoting and ladder eyelets in the upper half and the eponymous motifs lined up diagonally along the lower scalloped edge. The stitch count jumps from 23 to 28 in the first row. Two of the added stitches are worked off halfway through the pattern, before the other three are bound off in the final row of the 12-row repeat.

You can download the full-size chart, verbal instructions and notes here.

Next Week: Smyrna Lace

27. Rose Leaf Lace

Pairs of leaves running horizontally, faggoting, large eyelets, cascading eyelets and a gently scalloped lower edge combine to make "Rose Leaf Lace" one of the most complex compositions in the sample book. This is relatively large edging, with a stitch count of 34 to 39 and measuring 3¾" wide after blocking when knit in fingering weight yarn on 2.25mm needles.

You can download the full-size chart, verbal instructions and notes here.

Rose Leaf Lace would work well with any of the twin leaf patterns such as Barbara Walker's Double Rose Leaf insertion.

Next time: Lemon Seed Lace

26. Narrow Edge

"Narrow Edge" is a fraternal twin of 17. Lace Edging, the only significant difference in appearance being the substitution of ladder eyelets along the upper edge in place of the earlier pattern's herringbone faggoting. The stitch count rises from seven to nine before the extra stitches are bound off in the final row of the 6-row repeat. Although the sample's width is on the low side of average, I wouldn't put it in the same class as the other designs of the same name we have seen previously (3. Narrow Edging and 15. Narrow Edging). Those samples measured 7/8" knit in fingering weight cotton on 2.25mm needles, while this one is 1¼" wide.

You can download the full-size chart, verbal instructions and notes here.

Next week: Rose Leaf Lace

25. Lace Pattern

"Lace Pattern" is a relative of 13. Shell Pattern, in that the solid areas are gathered at the lower left by slipping multiple stitches over one. However, here the bind off does not result in a cupped effect. This may be due to the double yarn overs, giving the slipped stitches room to spread out. The first two rows of the chart are preparatory and are not worked on subsequent repeats of the pattern.

You can download the full-size chart, verbal instructions and notes here.

While knitting the sample, I was appalled by the unsightly bumps created along both the upper and lower edges by beginning every row with p2tog. So I knit another, adding an additional edge stitch on each side and using the selvedge technique from 19. Knitted Lace (Wide).

Aaah. Much better.

Next time: Narrow Edge

24. Untitled Edging

Here's another pattern without a name. The garter stitch edging combines fagotting along the top with large eyelets arranged within the saw-tooth lower edge. The stitch count increases with every eyelet row, from 11 to 19, and the added stitches are bound off in the last row of the 12-row repeat.

You can download the full-size chart, verbal instructions and notes here.

The right side and wrong side of this pattern are indistinguishable from one another, making it suitable for a wide variety of purposes.

Next time: Lace Pattern