Saturday, July 26, 2014

Netted Edging from The Priscilla Netting Book


The Netted Edging, found on pages 27 and 28 of The Priscilla Netting Book (with Belle Robinson as editor and published in 1914), was made for circular netting.  It took a couple of tries to get a non-circular version that looked decent.




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After working a little here and a little there for over a month, I finally finished Whirl.  I've finished re-doing all the quick and easy doilies.  We'll see how long it takes before I get the next one done.


Whirl is about 14 inches in diameter and has 4,524 knots.


Saturday, July 19, 2014

Wide Netted Edging from The Priscilla Netting Book


This week I made the Wide Netted Edging, figure 59, from page 27 of The Priscilla Netting Book, by Belle Robinson, editor, (published in 1914).  Following the information I learned last week, I used the mesh sticks based on the circumference of the mesh stick, not the width.  The pattern called for three mesh sticks - a small: 3/8", a medium: 5/8", and a large: 7/8".  I used the following mesh sticks - a small: size 3 knitting needle, medium: size 8 knitting needle, and a large 3/8" flat mesh stick.



This edge needs to start with a multiple of 3.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Netted Border with Fringe from The Priscilla Netting Book; mesh stick sizes; netting needle sizes; and The Lost Art of Netting


I was delighted to see that there were mesh-stick sizes given in the Netted Border with Fringe from The Priscilla Netting Book by Belle Robinson, editor, (published in 1914). An illustration is found on page 29, and the instructions are found starting at the bottom of page 31. The pattern specified a "small (5/8-inch) mesh-stick" and a "large (7/8-inch) mesh-stick."  That seemed rather large to me, but I made it.


 My sample measured about 10 inches square. 


Then someone in our knitting group (yes, I was netting at the local library's knitting group) pointed out that the fringe was supposed to be wound over a "2-inch measure." Then she asked, "Does that mean the mesh stick was not measured the same way as the fringe?" Her question made me think; I remembered that somewhere I had seen mesh stick sizes measured by the circumference of the mesh stick, not the width of the mesh stick. We decided to experiment.

Since I did not have a flexible tape measure, I marked a piece of thread with a knot 7/8" from the end and tried different size mesh sticks (flat and round) to see which one the thread would wrap around.  The 3/8" flat mesh was the closest.  So that became my large mesh.  I did the same thing with a 5/8"- long piece of thread.  The #5 knitting needle was the closest fit.  That became my new small mesh.

Repeating the instructions again with the smaller mesh sticks, I made the edge again.  It was much closer to my idea of the size a netted edging should be.


My smaller sample measured about 3.75 inches wide by 5 inches long.




Gauge can be so important.  In netting, gauge is determined by the size mesh stick used. To give you an idea of the size difference between the two samples, I'll show them here in the same photo.


I should have looked in the front of the book before starting any patterns contained in it, especially since it is an entire book about netting instead of just a couple of patterns. When I did, I found some important information.  Here is what was said about mesh sticks:


  • Mesh-sticks are numbered by the actual measure around the stick, as 3/8-inch, 5/8-inch, 7/8-inch, or 1 inch. The 7/8-inch corresponds very well with the "lead pencil" one often finds in directions. The 1-inch mesh-stick makes a mesh one-half inch square, and the same proportion is true of any other size.
There was also some interesting information about metal netting needles:
  • Netting-needles are offered in six sizes: Nos. 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22, No. 22 being the finest. It is somewhat longer, but in width is the same size as illustrated at Fig. 1. Any of the needles can be used with mesh-sticks 5/8 inch or larger; No. 16 needle is the largest that can be used with 3/8-inch mesh-stick.
It would be nice to have that variety in metal mesh sticks today.  

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This month continues to be exciting for me.  On July 3, 2014, I published my first book: The Lost Art of Netting: A How-To Book with Pictures and Patterns for the Beginning Netter (Volume 1). This week it appeared on Amazon.


Saturday, July 5, 2014

Edging from The Priscilla Netting Book


This net edging, simply called Edging, is from The Priscilla Netting Book, by Belle Robinson, editor, (published in 1914). An illustration is found on page 33, and the instructions are found on page 48. The instructions include the size of the mesh sticks - 3/8" and 7/8". This makes the edge 7.5 inches long.





I also made a netting sample using a 1/8" and a 3/8" mesh stick. This seemed to me to be better suited for a handkerchief edging since it measures 3 and 3/8 inches long.



UPDATE: I found out the reason for the problem.  Only a week late. It looks like I chose new mesh sticks correctly.

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This month started off with some excitement for me.  The July / August issue of Piecework Magazine included my article about netting and two net bookmarks I designed.