Other Lace Grounds

Rose Ground

Rose ground gives you squares alternating with gaps.

To start a rose ground, take 4 pairs of bobbins. Work the two left pairs in cloth stitch and twist, without a pin. Do the same to the right-hand two pairs. (If you are in the middle of rose ground, this will have been done already). Take the middle two pairs of bobbins, and work with half stitch, pin (at the top), half stitch to cover pin. Now take the two pairs on the left and do the same round the left-hand pin. Similarly, do the same with the two pairs on the right round the right-hand pin. Finally, take the middle two pairs, and do the last half stitch, bottom pin, half stitch. Finally work the two left pairs in a cloth stitch and twist (without a pin), and similarly for the two right pairs. The two pairs on the left will be the right-hand pairs for the next block on the left, and vice versa.

Rose ground can be tricky to tighten, since the threads seem to go in odd places until it is finished. It's best to make sure that you don't have any big loops forming as you put each pin in. Then tighten the whole block when you've finished. It's also important that you don't get confused about the cross-overs between the stitches. You must cross the two pairs of threads on each side using cloth stitch and twist before you start a block of rose ground. However, once you are working rose ground, the cross-overs have already been done at the end of the previous block of rose ground. Don't do them again! I found that forgetting these cross-overs is the commonest mistake I made when starting. There should be one cross-over on each side (and only one) at the start and end of each rose ground square.

The pricking pattern is on the left. If you find working rose ground tricky, you may prefer to draw on the pricking pattern where the threads actually go (see right).

It can be tricky fitting rose ground alongside a footside, or any other vertical edge. You will have to do the odd Torchon ground stitch to fill in.

Another type of rose ground is worked the same as this, except you use cloth stitch and twist, pin, cloth stitch and twist (see right), rather than half stitch, pin, half stitch, for each pin. You can also produce various effects by staggering where the rose grounds go, or combining rose ground and Torchon ground stitches. See my experiments with rose ground.

The diamond mats have rose ground.

Triangular Ground

To make one triangle, you need four pairs of bobbins, two pairs on each side. Make sure all pairs of bobbins are twisted. Work the two middle pairs of bobbins with cloth stitch, and then put the top pin in. Now work the right-hand pair of bobbins in cloth stitch through the other three pairs to the left. Put the next pin in. Work the same pair of bobbins in cloth stitch back through the other three. Put the bottom pin in between the middle two pairs of bobbins, and cover it by working the bobbins in cloth stitch. Twist all pairs of bobbins.

You can make the triangles point to the right rather than to the left.

The pricking pattern is on the left. If you find working triangular ground tricky, you may prefer to draw on the pricking pattern where the threads actually go (see right).

One of the hearts designs has triangular ground.

Bias Ground

Bias ground gives you diagonal stripes.

It's difficult to show a unit of bias ground, since you work a whole strip at once. You have pairs of bobbins coming in from the left, twisted three times. The worker pair of bobbins (shown in blue) zigzag in cloth stitch across these bobbins, taking in two pairs of bobbins from left to right, and three pairs from right to left. You pick up one pair of bobbins before each pin on the left, and drop one pair off after each pin on the right. Each dropped-off pair is twisted three times as well.

The pricking pattern is on the left. You can make the stripes slope the other way if you wish.

The narrow zigzag lace has something similar to bias ground.

Honeycomb Net

Honeycomb net gives you an attractive pattern of hexagonal holes. It uses Bucks Point grid, which has patterns of holes in triangles rather than square diamonds.

While working the lace, you must think in rows. Divide the bobbins up into groups of 4 pairs (8 bobbins). For the first row, work all the bobbins using honeycomb stitch (this will be two stitches for the 4 pairs). For the next row, leave the middle two pairs only, and work the outer pairs outwards with bobbins to left and right, with honeycomb stitch. The third row works all bobbins again. The fourth row works the middle two pairs of bobbins, and leaves the outer bobbins alone.

The pricking pattern is on the left.