Fringe from The Young Ladies' Journal Complete Guide to the Worktable

There are many net edges called Fringe. This one is #49 on page 135 of The Young Ladies' Journal Complete Guide to the Worktable. The illustration is found on page 136 of the same book.

Here is my diamond mesh version of the instructions.  This stitch pattern needs to start with an even number of loops.

Row 1:  using #2 knitting needle 

     Net 12 loops in the foundation loop.

Row 2:  using  3/4" flat mesh stick

     Net 1 knot in each loop.

Row 3: using #1 knitting needle 

     *Skip a loop, net 1 knot in the next loop, pass the skipped loop behind the netted loop, net into the skipped loop*; repeat from * to *.

Row 4:  using  3/4" flat mesh stick

     Net 1 knot in each loop.

Row 5: using #1 knitting needle 

     Net 1 knot in the first loop, *skip a loop, net 1 knot in the next loop, pass the skipped loop behind the netted loop, net into the skipped loop*; repeat from * 

to * ending with net 1 knot in the last loop.

Row 6:  using 1/4" flat mesh stick

     Net 1 knot in each loop.

Cut 96 two-inch lengths of thread.  Tie 8 lengths of thread into each loop made in row 6.

I wonder what it would look like if I:

• used an 1/8" mesh stick instead of a 3/4" mesh stick. 
• used a 1/4" mesh stick instead of a 3/4" mesh stick. 
• passed the skipped loop in front of the netted loop.

Maybe some day I'll try it and see.

Neckerchief Border from The Young Ladies' Journal Complete Guide to the Worktable

This edge came from the edge of a net neckerchief. It is #48 on page 135 of The Young Ladies' Journal Complete Guide to the Worktable. The illustration is found on page 136 of the same book. The instructions and illustration matched each other!

Here is my diamond mesh version of the instructions.  This stitch pattern needs to start with an odd number of loops.

To create the sample above, begin by using #2 knitting needle (size 12 knitting pin)

     Net 9 loops into the foundation loop.

Rows 1-2:  using #2 knitting needle (size 12 knitting pin)

     Net 1 knot in each loop.

Row 3: using 1/2" flat mesh stick

     Net 4 knots in the first loop, *skip the next loop, net 4 knots in the following loop*; repeat from * to *.

Rows 4-5:  using #2 knitting needle (size 12 knitting pin)

     Net 1 knot in each loop.

Row 6: using 1/2" flat mesh stick

     *Skip a loop, net 4 knots in the next loop*; repeat from * to * ending with skip a loop, net 1 knot in the last loop.

Row 7:  using #2 knitting needle (size 12 knitting pin)

     Net 1 knot in each loop.

To edge a handkerchief, I made the following changes to convert the instructions from rounds to rows:

Begin by netting 1 knot in each hemstitch and 6 knots in each corner.

Round 1 

     using a #2 knitting needle as a mesh stick

Net 1 knot in each loop except for the 6 loops before and after the 5 corner closed loops, net 2 knots in each of those 17 loops.

Round 2

     using a #2 knitting needle as a mesh stick

Net 1 knot in each loop

Round 3

     using a 1/2" mesh stick

Net 3 more knots in the loop formed by the CK, skip a loop, *net 4 knots in the following loop, skip the next loop*; repeat from * to *, tie the CK.

Round 4

     using a #2 knitting needle as a mesh stick

Net 1 knot in each loop.

Round 5

     using a #2 knitting needle as a mesh stick

Net 1 knot in each loop except for the last loop. 

     Set the netting needle aside. 

     Fasten a tapestry needle onto the loose end thread used to tie the CK.

     Remove the mesh stick and place it through the first 3 loops of this round. 

     Turn the netting so the mesh stick is on your left.

     Using the tapestry needle and thread, net 1 knot in the last loop. Tie the CK.

     The loop formed by the CK should be directly under the middle of the closed loops created in round 3.

Round 6

     using a 1/2" mesh stick

Net 3 more knots in the loop formed by the CK, *skip a loop, net 4 knots int he next loop;* repeat from * to * round, ending with skip the last loop, tie the CK.

Round 7:  

     using #2 knitting needle

Net 1 knot in each loop.

Border: Cross Netting and Twisted Loops from The Young Ladies' Journal Complete Guide to the Worktable

This edge is another one where the printed instructions and the illustration do not match. The instructions for Border: Cross Netting and Twisted Loops - Pattern #47 is found on page 134 of The Young Ladies' Journal Complete Guide to the Worktable. The instructions for Cross Netting are found on page 126, #7 and #10, (with illustrations on page 124) and instructions for the Twisted Loop are found on page 134, #42, (with the illustration on page 133).

Following the printed instructions the edge looked like this:

Here is how I re-wrote the instructions for myself. 

Row 1: using 1/8" flat mesh stick

     Net 10 loops into the foundation loop.

Row 2: using 1/8" flat mesh stick

     Net 1 knot in each loop.

Row 3: using 3/8" flat mesh stick

     Net 1 knot in each loop.

Row 4: using 1/8" flat mesh stick

     Twist each loop twice before netting into the loop.

Row 5: using 1/8" flat mesh stick

     Net 1 knot in each loop.

Row 6: using 1/8" flat mesh stick

     *Net a wrapped long loop in the next loop, net a short loop in the next loop;* repeat from * to *.

Row 7: using 1/8" flat mesh stick

     *Net 1 knot in the next loop, net a long loop in a short loop*; repeat from * to *.

Row 8: using 1/8" flat mesh stick

     *Draw the long loop of row 4 up through the long loop of row 3, net a wrapped loop in the loop from row 4, net a short loop in the portion of the next loop that is partially up in the long loop of row 3*; repeat from * to * ending with net a wrapped long loop in the last long loop.  This loop will be as long as the other long loops of this row.

Row 9: using 1/8" flat mesh stick

     Net 1 knot in each loop

Row 10: using 3/8" flat mesh stick

     Net 1 knot in each loop.

Row 11: using 1/8" flat mesh stick

     Twist each loop twice before netting into the loop.

Row 12: using 1/8" flat mesh stick

     Net 1 knot in each loop.

When I looked at the illustration for  Border: Cross Netting and Twisted Loops - Pattern #47  on page 133 of The Young Ladies' Journal Complete Guide to the Worktable, I could tell immediately it was NOT Crossed Netting in the center of the sample. I thought it was Rose Netting. 

The instructions for Rose Netting are found on page 126, #8 and #11, (with illustrations on page 124) and instructions for the Twisted Loop are found on page 134, #42, (with the illustration on page 133).

Here is how I wrote the instructions for myself. 

Row 1: using 1/8" flat mesh stick

     Net 10 loops into the foundation loop.

Row 2: using 3/8" flat mesh stick

     Net 1 knot in each loop.

Row 3: using 1/8" flat mesh stick

     Twist each loop twice before netting into the loop.

Row 4: using 1/8" flat mesh stick

     Net 1 knot in each loop.

Row 5: using 3/8" flat mesh stick

     Net 1 knot in each loop.

Row 6: using 1/8" flat mesh stick

     Draw the first loop up through the 2nd loop and net into it.  Draw the second loop (the part under and between the legs of the first loop) up through the first loop and net into it.  Repeat this process with the next two loops and work across the row.

Row 7: using 3/8" flat mesh stick

     Net 1 knot in each loop.

Row 8: using 1/8" flat mesh stick

     Twist each loop twice before netting into the loop.

Row 9: using 1/8" flat mesh stick

     Net 1 knot in each loop.

I think the illustration should have been labeled Border: Rose Netting and Twisted Loops.

Border: with Tufts and Scalloped Edge from The Young Ladies' Journal Complete Guide to the Worktable

The instructions for Pattern #45 on page 134 of The Young Ladies' Journal Complete Guide to the Worktable, Border: with Tufts and Scalloped Edge, took some thought to understand a process that may have been so commonly used that there was not need to explain. Eventually I thought of one way to have the directions make sense. Here is the way I achieved this:


draw the next loop very tightly:

1. Bring the thread across the front of the mesh stick and the fingers of the left hand.
2. Wrap the thread around the fingers but not behind the mesh stick. Instead, bring the thread in front of the mesh stick (resting on the mesh stick).
3. Put the thread under the thumb and throw it back over the foundation loop.
4. Making sure to keep ALL threads on top of the mesh stick, place the netting needle through the loop around the fingers, across the front of the mesh stick, and through the next loop.
5. Bring this "next" loop close to the loops with 3 loops, tighten the knot.  NOTE: as the knot is tightened, check to be sure that all threads are above the mesh stick and moving any that are around the mesh stick off the mesh stick.
6. There will be no new loop formed, perhaps just a small straight thread between the "next" loop and the loop to the left which has 3 loops in it.  The close these two are, the better.

This pattern needs a multiple of 4 loops if the netting is circular or add 1 loop to that number if you plan to go back and forth in rows. If the netting is circular, just use the instructions from * to *.

Here are the instructions for the sample:

Begin:  #3 knitting needle
     Net 13 knots into the foundation loop.

Row 1:  #3 knitting needle
     Net 1 knot in each loop.

Row 2:  1/4" flat mesh stick
     Without a mesh stick, net 1 knot in the first loop, now using the mesh stick, *net 3 knots in the same loop, draw the next loop very tightly as explained above*; repeat from * to * across the row.

Row 3:  #3 knitting needle
     Net 3 loops together across the row.

Row 4:  1/4" flat mesh stick
     Without a mesh stick, net 1 knot in the first loop, now using the mesh stick, *net 3 knots in the same loop, draw the next loop tightly as explained above*; repeat from * to * across the row.

Row 5:  #3 knitting needle
     Net 3 loops together across the row.

Row 6:  #3 knitting needle
     Net 1 knot in each loop.

Row 7:  1/4" flat mesh stick
     Net 8 knots in the first loop, *wrap the thread once around the mesh stick, skip 3 loops, net 9 knots in the next loop*; repeat from * to *.

Row 8:  #3 knitting needle
     Net 1 knot in each loop for 8 loops, *place the long loop up through the middle of the skipped loops, net 1 knot in the long loop, net 1 knot in each loop for 8 loops*; repeat from * to to*.

Row 9:  #3 knitting needle
     Net 1 knot in each loop.