Exploring stitches (1)

3D cubes

Kat stitch is worked on a hexagonal grid. There is a simple design of diamonds fitting into hexagons which looks like 3D cubes, even if you can't work out which way up they are. (See left.) This is an attempt to reproduce it in lace, I would add, not very successfully!

The design needs three different stitches. I used cloth diamonds, Bucks Point ground and Kat stitch. Unfortunately there is no strong vertical line between the Bucks Point ground and the Kat stitch, which spoils the design. The edge is Bucks Point passives and picots headside. You could replace this with a simpler footside if you prefer.

18 pairs

3D cubes - second attempt

This is another design trying to reproduce the 3D cube effect. I think this is more sucessful.

The design needs three different stitches. The cloth diamonds are now diagonal rather than horizontal. This means that it needs vertical edges, which require extra holes. The horizontal diamonds are now Kat stitch and Torchon ground. The strong vertical line is given by the cloth diamonds, and the Kat stitch has the strong slanting edges.

Now try to see the cubes. There are two ways to look at it. The Kat stitch can form the top of the cubes, which means that the light is coming from the top right. Or you can make the Kat stitch the bottom of the cubes, which makes the light come from the bottom left!

20 pairs

One of the mats also is based on this 3D cube idea.

Stars and fans

The star ground is great fun! Two pairs of threads on each side cross each other using cloth stitch, but there is a cunning twist before and after to make a star shape. The whole pattern is held in place with a border of Torchon ground.

This is a simple pattern, with star ground between two lines of cloth fans.

18 pairs

Stars - coloured

I liked the previous pattern but the stars don't really stand out. I noticed that the Torchon ground lines always used the same pairs of bobbins, so wondered about a coloured version. Here is the result.

You will need to start the bobbins with the correct colour at each starting pin, or it won't work. I used a dark blue, and gold thread for the stars. The pattern is narrower than the previous pattern, and the fans are asymmetrical.

15 pairs

Simple open spiders

Open spiders are partly worked like ordinary spiders but with a hole in the middle, which is made with the outer threads holding the other threads apart. Click here to see how to work a simple open spider.

The rest is narrow half stitch zigzags, Torchon ground and a twisted footside. The alternate diamonds to the open spiders have gaps in. These are normal Torchon ground but in some places, one of the pinholes are missing. The lines in the pattern show where the threads go.

24 pairs of bobbins.

Different open spiders

There are two types of open spider in this pattern, a simple open spider and a more complicated variant. There is a twisted fan headside. There is a twisted footside and the rest is Torchon ground with gaps to make it a bit more interesting.

16 pairs

I positioned the pinholes for the simple open spider further towards the centre than the previous example, and it doesn't seem to have been as successful. The more complicated variant is solidly worked and looks better, with a neater hole.

Pea

I am not sure what the difference is between a pea and an open spider, or whether they are different names for the same thing. This is the most complicated form, anyway. Click here for how to work a pea.

Otherwise, it is a conventional pattern, with narrow cloth chevrons, rose ground, double Torchon ground and a twisted footside.

18 pairs of bobbins.