The Young Lady's Book by Mrs. Henry Mackarness

The Young Lady's Book was published in 1888.  Written by Mrs. Henry Mackarness, this book contains 4 pages with information on netting.  She includes a brief history of netting and a description of how to make it. I found her directions clear, but that may just be because I know how to net.  Here is a list of the netting she put into the book:

1. Netting (page 183)
2. Honeycomb Netting Purse (page 184)
3. Spotted Netting for Purses (page 184)
4. Diamond Netting for Curtains with Scalloped Border (page 185)
5. Round Netted Couvrette (page 186)

And what is a Couvrette?  I'm not sure.  I can't find it in a dictionary.  There is a website that indicates it means doily.  There is another website that gives several books where the word is used, but no definition.

One of these days, when I have extra time, I would like to make the Round Netted Couvrette.  Maybe then I'll know what it is, or at least what one looks like.

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This week I finished Crystalline.  This is one of the doilies that I've wanted to remake so I can see the entire doily instead of just a rectangular section.  

I called this one Star Fire.

I called this one Spider Web (small).

While working with my son to post photos of many of the projects I have completed over the years, I realized that I did not have a good photo of the netting used with some of the potpourri jars I had made, photographed, and given away.   In fact, I had not even named the netting.  I quickly made these from my computerized directions.  

While making Spider Web (small), I wondered what would happen if I put more stitches into the increase portion of the edge.  The result:  Spider Web (large).

Besides adding the net bowl and cup covers to my website, my son also added net coaster inserts and more net bookmarks.

Gauge = mesh stick size and yarn size

I was looking at the patterns for my upcoming Circular Netting class.  I noticed that I had only one hot pad.  It uses the plain stitch.   

As I continued to transform the instructions for the net coasters from something I could understand to a handout everyone could understand, I realized I could have more hot pad patterns.  I just needed to make some changes to the coaster patterns.  

By using thicker thread and larger mesh sticks I went from coaster to hot pad.  The inserts in the acrylic coasters are just under 3 inches.  The hot pads are between 5 and 6 inches.

In knitting and crocheting how tightly you grip your yarn and needle affects the gauge and the finished size of your project.  This is not what happens with netting.  The finished size of an article of netting depends on the size of the yarn or thread and the size of the mesh sticks used.

Small Circular Netting: A coaster, potholder, or hot pad?

One of the challenges in creating a new netting class is creating quick, easy, and useful projects.  The circular netting class I'm working on is no exception.

When I learned to net, my grandmother started me with spiral netting.  (I didn't realize that there was any other type of netting for years.)  Since she started the center on my first two doilies, I didn't even get to try the process for over a year.  And since each doily took a long time to complete I had a hard time remembering how to start the doily.

I wanted to avoid that problem with my students, so I have created several small circular projects.  Here are the latest.

7" diameter

5" diameter

I was not sure what to call them.  Are they coasters, potholders, or hot pads?







A friend recently experimented with these net yarn items. She found that they worked great when holding hot items like a cup of tea or coffee.  The steam and heat did not transfer to the surface below.  She also found they did not work so great with cold soft drink cans.  The condensed moisture that gathered on the surface of the can dripped through the holes onto the surface below. 

I guess that means I should stop calling them coasters and start calling them hot pads.  What would you call them?

Net Gifts: Beautiful, Practical, and Unique

Knowing how to net has given me the ability to create unique gifts for people in my life.  This week has been no exception.

A young woman I have known since she was born was married in April in beautiful New Zealand.  On Friday her parents held an open house for her and her new husband.  I figured that weight would be at a premium as they returned to New Zealand, so I made the young couple a net doily. 

Double Star is about 14" in diameter.   

I still needed to make three more gifts this week.  So I decided to make some 3" doilies.  Yes, I can count.  I made 4 doilies.  I wanted to give those three people the opportunity to choose.  Besides, I may keep one for myself.

Flower

Tier

Web

Well

 

 Somehow a 3" doily did not seem like enough, so I decided to place each doily in a coaster.

I really like the way they turned out.

Beautiful, practical, and definitely unique.

For the first time in a long time, I found myself netting with thread instead of yarn.  It felt different, but I enjoyed working with size 20 crochet thread and size 70 tatting thread.