A Net Vandyke with One Extra Point on the Outer Side of the First and Last Vandykes

One of the net Vandyke patterns I found in books and magazines published in the 1800s had more points on the outer side of the first and last Vandykes than on any of the other sides of the Vandykes. Some people like this look better than the basic net Vandykes. Once again, when my husband and I began looking closely, we found four different ways to turn the final corner and make the last vertical edge.

This Vandyke was one of our experimental samples. It has 6 squares in the border, 3 points along the inner Vandykes, and 4 points along the outer side of the first and last Vandykes.

First Vandyke with straight, vertical side

Tie the thread from the netting needle onto the foundation loop, leaving a 6" tail.

Row 1: Net 2 knots in the foundation loop. (2 loops in the row)

Row 2: Net 1 knot in the first loop, net 2 knots in the last loop. (3 loops in the row)

Row 3: Net 1 knot in each loop except for the last loop, net 2 knots in the last loop. (4 loops in the row)

Row 4: Net 1 knot in each loop except for the last loop, net 2 knots in the last loop. (5 loops in the row)

Row 5: Net 1 knot in each loop except for the last loop, net 2 knots in the last loop. (6 loops in the row)

Row 6: Net 1 knot in each loop. (6 loops in the row)

Row 7: Net 1 knot in each loop except for the last loop, net 2 knots in the last loop. (7 loops in the row)

Row 8: Net 1 knot in each loop. (7 loops in the row)

Row 9: Net 1 knot in each loop except for the last loop, net 2 knots in the last loop. (8 loops in the row)

Row 10: Net 1 knot in each loop. (8 loops in the row)

Row 11: Net 1 knot in each loop except for the last loop, net 2 knots in the last loop. (9 loops in the row)

Row 12: Net 1 knot in each loop. (9 loops in the row)

Row 13: Net 1 knot in each loop except for the last loop, net 2 knots in the last loop. (10 loops in the row)

Row 14: Net 1 knot in each loop for 7 loops, turn the netting and prepare to start the next row, leaving the other 3 loops to form one side of the Vandyke.

Repeating Vandyke

Rows 9-14: Repeat instructions to create a new Vandyke.

Last Vandyke with a straight vertical side

Row 1: Net 1 knot in each loop except for the last 2 loops, net the last 2 loops together. (6 loops in the row)

Row 2: Net 1 knot in each loop. (6 loops in the row)

Row 3: Net 1 knot in each loop except for the last 2 loops, net the last 2 loops together. (5 loops in the row)

Row 4: Net 1 knot in each loop. (5 loops in the row)

Row 5: Net 1 knot in each loop except for the last 2 loops, net the last 2 loops together. (4 loops in the row)       

Forming the first square of the netting

1.       Remove the foundation loop from row 1 of the netting.

2.       Tie the tail onto a tapestry needle, which is used in place of the netting needle.

3.       Place the foundation-loop cord through another row of meshes.

4.       Tie the foundation-loop cord into a circle and attach it to a tension device.

5.       Net the first two loops together without using a mesh stick.

If you would like to know the math involved, here it is.

Rows in the Repeating Vandyke
Double the number of inner points (for this example: 2 times 3 = 6).

Rows in the last Vandyke
Subtract 1 from the number of rows in the repeating Vandyke (for this example: 6-1=5).

To find how many final Vandykes are needed:
If the number of squares in the border is less than or equal to the number of rows in the repeating Vandyke, there is only 1 final Vandyke (For this example: number of squares in the border is 6 and number rows in the repeating Vandyke is 6. We will need final 1 Vandyke.).

To determine which of the 4 types of instructions to use for the final Vandykes:
Subtract the number of squares in the border from 2 times the number of inner points.
The resulting number will be 0, 1, an even number greater than 0, or an odd number greater than 1 (for this example (2*3)-6 = 0).

Generic instructions for the final Vandyke

If your resulting number is 0, the rows are as follows: 

OuterN= the number of points on the outer side of the first and last Vandykes

B= the number of squares in the border 

• ·         Net (B - OuterN) pair(s) of Decrease and Plain rows,
• ·         1 Decrease row.