Saturday, February 23, 2013

The Ladies' Work-table Book (2nd ed)


Recently I discussed the netting patterns and instructions found in The Ladies' Work-table Book.  The on-line copy was published in 1845.  Today I picked up the second edition of The Ladies' Work-table Book to list the netting information it contained.  I was surprised to notice that the online version of the second edition was published in 1844.

The netting information found in the two books is not identical.  Some of the information and patterns are worded differently.  Some patterns included in the first edition are not in the second edition, and there are some new patterns in the second edition.  Here is what the second edition contains for netting:
  1. Netting (page 158) [this introduction contains a brief history of netting]
  2. Plain Netting (page 160)
  3. Bead Stitch (page 162)
  4. Diamond Netting  (page 163)
  5. Diamond Netting, of Five Stitches (page 163)
  6. Grecian Netting (page 164)
  7. Shaded Silk Netting (page 164)
  8. Dotted Netting  (page 165)
  9. French Ground Net (page 165)
  10. Honeycomb Netting (page 166)
  11. Honeycomb Netting, with Two Meshes (page 166)
  12. Another Kind of Honeycomb Netting (page 167)
  13. Leaf Netting (page 167)
  14. Maltese Netting, in Spots (page 168)
  15. Plain Open Netting (page 169)
  16. Round Netting (page 169)
  17. Shaded Silk Netting (page 170)
  18. Honeycomb Mittens (page 171)
  19. Netted Cuffs (page 172)
  20. Netted Opera Cap (page 173)
  21. Netted Scollop Edging (page 174)
  22. A Plain Scollop (page 175)
  23. Cap Border Scollop (page 175)
  24. Net Cravat (page 175)
  25. A Net Scarf (page 176)
  26. A Long Purse, in Points (page 176)
  27. Netted Wool Scarf (page 177)
  28. Small Half Neckerchief (page 177)
  29. Square Wool Neckerchief (page 177)
  30. Netted Mittens (page 178)
  31. Netted Fringe (page 179)
  32. Striped Netted Purse (page 179)
  33. Round Netting Purse (page 180)
  34. A Purse, in Points (page 180)
  35. Netted Curtain (page 180)
  36. Curtain for a French Bed (page 181)
*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

This week I got an email from Solange Oliveira. She lives in Brazil and has a website devoted to netting.  As I looked at her website again, I was reminded that many of her decorations are made with a stitch I have named Tufts.  She is very creative with that stitch, and I really liked one of her variations.  To be able to refer to it easily, I have called it Tufts Eyelet Decorative Stitch.  This week I decided I would try to make that stitch using a #3 size knitting needle, which is equivalent to a 1/8" flat mesh stick.




It did not look like this before it was starched.  The hole in the middle of the Tufts did not appear.  So, I made another sample.  This time I used a #8 knitting needle, which is the same as a 1/4" flat mesh stick.


Once I starched the stitch, I could see the hole in both of the samples, though I like the first one better.  Solange Oliveira has several patterns on her website which use this stitch.


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