A Text-book of Needlework, Knitting and Cutting Out: with Methods of Teaching by Elizabeth Rosevear

A Text-book of Needlework, Knitting and Cutting Out: with Methods of Teaching by Elizabeth Rosevear was published in 1893.    She includes a brief history of netting, the tools used to make netting, how to tie the knot, and how to make square-mesh, diamond-mesh, round netting (what I call spiral netting), and the twisted stitch.  With only four pages devoted to netting, there is no room for patterns.

1. Netting (page 439)
2. Implements (page 440)
3. Method (page 440)
4. Square Netting (page 441)
5. Oblong Netting for Window Curtains (page 442)
6. Round Netting (page 442)
7. Twisted Stitch in Netting (page 442)

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Several months ago my oldest daughter asked me to make three handkerchiefs edged in netting, one each for herself and her two daughters.

It took me a while, but I finally found some gorgeous white handkerchief linen.  I traveled to a fabric-filled shop, Delectable Mountain Cloth, in Brattleboro, Vermont.  

I didn't realize I might want my camera, so I left it home.  However, I found a wonderful blog post about the shop that included many photos.








I cut out several of the handkerchiefs that very day, put them in a bag, and there they sat.

I knew I wanted to hemstitch the edges, but I was scared to try.














This week I took one of the scraps from that lovely linen and jumped in.


There were only three of us at the library knitting group this week.  I almost finished hemstitching the sample while there.

It's a good thing I started with a sample and that I have several more samples.  It's going to take some time to learn how to make the corners look neat.