Part 26

Knot the 4 threads of the left group over the cord on the right; and over them again the 2 next threads on the right; knot the 4 threads on the left over the 4th thread on the right; make 2 button-hole knots with the 4th thread over the 3 threads at the bottom and on the side.

Over the 4 threads, that come from the left and right, make quadruple bars; cross the upper threads after the second row of bars, make 2 button-hole bars with the next thread over the 4th thread, then finish the 3rd and 4th bar of knots.

[Illustration: FIG. 607. CHINESE KNOT AND DOUBLE CHAIN FOR A RING KNOT.]

To make the olive-shaped group of knots on both sides, take the threads, that come out from the shells, as cords. Fig. 605 shows the adding on of the first supplementary thread, fig. 606, that of 12 more which, knotted on to the first, form with it, the group of bars on the diagonal corner line. The knots, of which the next large shell is composed, are made with 2 more supplementary threads and one thread from the preceding figure. Add on 2 more supplementary threads to the disengaged threads, which 4 then serve as cords for the groups of bars, left and right.

The 4th group of bars which forms the corner of the fringe, is made on the 4 threads that come from the large shell, on to which the fourth set of 12 supplementary threads is knotted.

[Illustration: FIG. 608. RING KNOT FORMED OF A SINGLE CHAIN.]

The pattern ends at the bottom with a half star, and a double bar; beneath these, large scallops are added, consisting of 2 half stars, 4 ovals, 1 whole star and 2 ovals.

All the threads that come from the groups are then collected at the top of the scallops and overcast with strong thread, so as to form a thick round cord along the edges of the scallops, widening towards the point, as more and more threads are taken in. At the point, these threads are knotted into a big tassel with another bunch of supplementary threads added to them. The other small tassels, represented in fig. 604, are made separately and then fastened on.

The fringe is further ornamented by large knotted tassels, introduced between the scallops, for which, a large knotted berry, fig. 590, over 21 cords, has first to be made.

Collect the 21 threads all together, to begin with; then make: 2 rows of knots over 12 threads, 1 over 15, 3 over 21, 1 over 15 and 2 over 12; then cut the ends of the 21 threads to the same length, and turn them inwards, to fill up the hollow space inside the berry, stuffing it besides, if necessary, with wadding to make it perfectly firm and hard and sewing it together at the ends.

To this you attach 5 large and 6 small pendants; the smaller ones are begun with a Chinese knot, figs. 607 and 609, which terminates in a double chain, formed into a ring knot.

[Illustration: FIG. 609. SMALL PENDANT OF THE TASSELS IN FIG. 604.]

[Illustration: FIG. 610. LARGE PENDANT OF THE TASSELS IN FIG. 604.]

These ring knots take the place, in macramé, of bead drops, in gimp trimmings; when they are made of a double chain, you cut away 3 threads, when of a single, 1 thread, conceal the ends carefully inside the knot, make a loop with the 4th or 2nd thread, fig. 608, and lastly, fasten off all the ends with two or three invisible stitches.

Into the loop formed by the 4th thread, you hang 3 small ring knots, made of a single chain, with a loop, top and bottom, formed of the ends of the thread.

Fig. 609 represents the small pendant, of which six are required for a tassel; fig. 610, the large one, of which there should be five. The berry, or head of the tassel, is attached to a crochet, or knotted cord, of which a description will be found in the last chapter but one of this work.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] See at the end of the concluding chapter, the table of numbers and sizes and the list of colours of the D.M.C threads and cottons.

[Illustration: INSERTION IN EMBROIDERED NETTING.—ORNAMENT WITH VARIOUS STITCHES.]

Netting.

Netting is a handicraft, so ancient that it would be difficult to trace it to its origin, or determine the date of its invention. There is evidence to show that the making of nets for fishing and game catching was as familiar to the earlier races of mankind as it is to us.

Practised in the first instance for the wants of life, it by degrees developed into an art, in conjunction with embroidery, to which it was made to serve as a foundation. The netting of every country, almost, has a distinctive character of its own: that of Persia is known by its fine silken meshes and rich gold and silver embroidery; that of Italy, by the varied size and shape of its meshes and a resemblance in the style of its embroidery to the Punto tagliato; whilst the netting of France, known by the name of Cluny guipure, consists of a groundwork of fine meshes with stiff close designs embroidered upon it, outlined in coarse glazed thread.

Netting, which divides itself under two headings, netting proper, or plain netting and net embroidery, has never yet gone out of fashion and places are still to be found where the entire population is engaged in this industry.

PLAIN NETTING AND THE IMPLEMENTS USED IN NETTING (figs. 611, 612, 613).—Plain netting consists of loops, secured and rendered independent of one another by knots. For forming and tightening these loops and knots the following implements are necessary; in the first place, a netting needle; these are generally made of steel, split and flattened at both ends, with a hole bored through them below the fork at the one end, in which the thread, fig. 611, is secured, before it is wound on lengthwise between the forks. They are numbered as to size like knitting needles. There are netting needles likewise of bone, ivory, wood and tortoise-shell for twine and thick materials; these are without hole, fig. 612.

[Illustration: FIG. 611. NETTING NEEDLE OF STEEL.]

[Illustration: FIG. 612. NETTING NEEDLE OF IVORY.]

The thread must be wound on very tightly, and not too much of it at a time, that the needle may slip easily through the loops. The mesh, or spool, fig. 613, whether of ivory, bone, steel or wood, should be smooth and round and of the same thickness throughout, so that the loops, made upon it, may be all of one size and easily slipped off.

[Illustration: FIG. 613. MESH OR SPOOL OF IVORY.]

For long loops a flat mesh is best, and in all cases, the needle and mesh should be selected with a view, both to the material employed, and the size of loop required.

In addition to these two implements, a cushion, weighted with lead will be required, to pin the foundation loop to, on which the first row of netting is worked.

MATERIALS SUITABLE FOR NETTING.—These, of course depend on the purpose of the netting: silk, twine, wool and cotton, can all be used and each possesses its advantages and disadvantages. Silk has the finest gloss but when it is strongly twisted it is very apt to knot, and when loosely twisted, does not make firm knots. It is difficult to get linen thread with a smooth uniform twist and moreover it soon frays in the working; wool is too elastic a fibre and is unsuitable for washing purposes, cotton remains therefore, in every respect the most desirable material, being both smooth and uniformly twisted; as qualities, more especially adapted for netting we may mention the following: Fil à pointer D.M.C, Cordonnet 6 fils D.M.C (crochet cotton), Fil à dentelle D.M.C (lace thread), and even Coton à tricoter D.M.C[A] (knitting cotton).

NETTING STITCHES.—The loops are always the same—four-cornered whether they be square or oblong—and connected together, though secured and rendered independent of one another by knots. By different ways of passing the thread over the mesh and connecting the loops together, the following stitches are produced: 1° plain loop, 2° double loop, 3° oblong loop, 4° honeycomb loop, 5° twisted loop.

[Illustration: FIG. 614. FIRST POSITION OF THE HANDS.]

1° PLAIN LOOP. FIRST POSITION OF THE HANDS (fig. 614).—Every kind of netting requires a foundation loop, from 10 to 20 c/m. long, made either of Cordonnet 6 fils D.M.C Nos. 3 to 10, or Fil à pointer D.M.C No. 10[A], which is pinned to the cushion. Fasten the working thread to the foundation loop; then take the mesh in the left hand, holding it between the thumb and forefinger, with the other fingers extended beneath. Take the needle filled with thread in the right hand and pass the thread downwards over the mesh and over the second, third and fourth fingers, inside, carry it up behind the third finger and lay it to the left under the thumb by which it has to be held fast.

[Illustration: FIG. 615. SECOND POSITION OF THE HANDS.]

SECOND AND THIRD POSITION OF THE HANDS (figs. 615 and 616).—Carry the thread down behind the second, third, fourth and fifth fingers, and put the needle through the loop on the fingers and behind the mesh, through the foundation loop, thus forming a second loop, which you hold back with the little finger of the left hand. Then gradually drawing up the thread that runs from the mesh, let go the loop held down by the thumb; then by degrees let go also, the loop which lies over the second, third and fourth fingers, still holding the last loop fast with the little finger; finally you release this too and pull up the knot thus formed close to the mesh with the right hand. This completes the stitch. The next stitches are made in the same way; whether they are to serve for casting on or for a netted foundation. The mesh is drawn out at the end of each row, the work turned and the mesh held beneath the last row, in readiness for the next, in making which you pass your needle through each loop. These diamond-shaped loops form a diagonal net.

[Illustration: FIG. 616. THIRD POSITION OF THE HANDS.]

2° DOUBLE LOOP.—To make a double loop put the thread two or three times round the mesh.

3° OBLONG LOOP.—For oblong loops, the knots must be made a little distance from the mesh.

4° HONEYCOMB LOOP.—Make an oblong loop, pass the thread round the fingers, but not over the mesh as in plain netting, put the needle, not into the loop of the previous row, but between the loop, just made. The knot which is made in the same way as in plain netting, must be drawn close up to the mesh; the two threads of the loop should lie side by side on the mesh. The loops in honeycomb netting are six-sided.

5° TWISTED LOOPS.—Pass the thread, as in plain netting, over the mesh and fingers, but before letting the thread which is under the thumb go, pass the needle from right to left under the loop you are making and the thread, and only then draw up the knot.

Although in netting the loops cannot be formed in as many different ways as in knitting or crochet, they admit of a certain variety, as the following explanations will show.

PATTERNS PRODUCED IN NETTING BY USING MESHES OF DIFFERENT WIDTHS.—Plain netting can be varied by making one row of loops over a large mesh and one over a small one, or several rows over the large and several over the small, alternately, changing the meshes at regular intervals.

[Illustration: FIG. 617. PATTERNS PRODUCED IN NETTING BY INCREASING AND DECREASING.]

PATTERNS PRODUCED IN NETTING BY INCREASING AND DECREASING (fig. 617).—Patterns of this kind are made by netting the meshes together in regular sequence and taking up as many meshes as you have netted together, or vice versa. You may increase and decrease in the same rows, or at an interval of so many rows.

[Illustration: FIG. 618. LOOSE LOOPS IN CLUSTERS.]

Two sizes of thread should be used for this patterns. To show the relation they should bear to one another, we instance: Fil à pointer D.M.C No. 30 with Fil à dentelle D.M.C No. 50[A], or Coton à tricoter D.M.C Nos. 14 and 30[A], with Coton à tricoter D.M.C No. 50[A], or Coton à repriser D.M.C No. 25 with No. 100.[A]

Begin by 3 rows of plain netting with the finer thread over the small mesh, followed by one row with the coarser thread over the large mesh; then, with the coarse thread over the large mesh, one row, in which you net every two loops together and one row, with two loops in every one, so that the number of loops remains the same. These are followed by 3 rows of plain netting with the fine thread on the small mesh.

[Illustration: FIG. 619. LOOSE LOOPS IN CLUSTERS. WORKING DETAIL OF FIG. 618.]

LOOSE LOOPS IN CLUSTERS (figs. 618 and 619).—These clusters of loose loops are made in the following manner:

1st row—one loop, the knot of which must be a little distance from the mesh; put the thread over the mesh and the needle through the loop where the knot is; repeat this three or four times, making the loops all of the same length. Then unite all the loops with one knot, carrying the needle from right to left, round the loops, instead of putting it through the loop of the previous row.

2nd row—make one loop over each loop of the first row, leaving out the loops that form the cluster.

As may be gathered from the drawing, many different patterns can be worked upon the netting in this manner.

[Illustration: FIG. 620. NETTING COMPOSED OF PLAIN, DOUBLE AND OBLONG LOOPS.]

NETTING COMPOSED OF PLAIN, DOUBLE AND OBLONG LOOPS (fig. 620).—Netting composed of large and small loops is the kind generally used as a groundwork for embroidery. The loops of it are straight; diamond netting will serve the same purpose, but as it is less commonly used we have given the preference to the straight.

The whole first row consists of a double and a plain loop alternately; the second, entirely of oblong loops, which are made by passing the thread only once over the mesh, and so, that in netting on the double loop, the knot is brought close to the needle, where as, in netting the plain loop, it hangs free; so that, as shown in fig. 620, all the loops of the 2nd row are of the same length. In the 3rd row, which is like the first, the plain loops should come between the small holes and the double ones between the large holes.

[Illustration: FIG. 621. CIRCULAR NETTING COMPOSED OF LONG AND SHORT LOOPS.]

CIRCULAR NETTING COMPOSED OF LONG AND SHORT LOOPS (fig. 621).—Make thirty or thirty one loops over a large mesh with a very stout material, such as Fil à pointer D.M.C No. 20, or a double thread of Cordonnet 6 fils D.M.C No. 30, then draw up the thread on which the loops are strung, as tightly as possible, so as to form quite a small ring for the centre, and fasten off.

For the next row, also made in coarse thread, fasten the thread on to a long loop and make one loop into each loop of the first row, over a small mesh. Use the same mesh for all the subsequent rows, which should be worked in a finer thread, such as Cordonnet 6 fils D.M.C No. 50 or 60.

If you want to avoid fastening on the thread afresh for each row, make a loop over the thumb.

MAKING LOOPS OVER THE THUMB.—Put the thread, as for a plain loop over the mesh and fingers, and put the needle through the loop, likewise as for a plain loop, but before tightening the knot, draw the mesh out of the loop just made and make it exactly as long as the loop above.

[Illustration: FIG. 622. CIRCULAR NETTING FORMED BY INCREASES.]

CIRCULAR NETTING FORMED BY INCREASES (fig. 622).—Make 10 loops on the foundation loop, close the ring, then go on, making a row with one knot in the first loop and two knots in the second, until the net attains the right circumference; in the subsequent rows, increase by one loop, that is to say, make two knots in each of the previous increases.

[Illustration: FIG. 623. SQUARE OF NETTING. BEGUN.]

SQUARE OF NETTING (figs. 623 and 624).—To make squares of netting with straight loops, begin by making two loops or three knots. Make two knots in each of the following rows so that each row is increased by one loop. Continue to increase until you have one loop more than the square should number.

[Illustration: FIG. 624. SQUARE OF NETTING. COMPLETED.]

Following this row with the extra stitch, make a row without either increase or intake and begin the intakes in the next row, joining the two last loops of each row together by a knot. Finish the two last loops over the thumb.

[Illustration: FIG. 625. SQUARE OF NETTING BEGUN FROM THE MIDDLE. BEGUN.]

[Illustration: FIG. 626. SQUARE OF NETTING BEGUN FROM THE MIDDLE. COMPLETED.]

SQUARE OF NETTING BEGUN FROM THE MIDDLE (figs. 625 and 626).—Instead of beginning a square from the corner, in the manner just described, it may be begun from the middle.

[Illustration: FIG. 627. STRIPE OF STRAIGHT NETTING EDGED WITH EMPTY LOOPS.]

Cast on the required number of loops, make an intake in each row, by omitting to take up the last loop of a row. In coming back, your first knot will thus be made over the last loop but one of the previous row, fig. 625. To complete the square, fasten the thread on again, to the end of the thread of the last row, then make a similar to it, and repeat the same rows you made at the beginning (see fig. 626).

[Illustration: FIG. 628. STRIPE OF STRAIGHT NETTING.]

STRIPES OF STRAIGHT NETTING (figs. 627 and 628).—These can be begun and finished in two ways. The simplest way, more especially when they are to be embroidered afterwards, is to cast on the necessary number of loops, to decrease on one side by dropping a loop, fig. 627, or by joining two loops together with a knot, fig. 628, and to increase on the other side, by making two knots over one loop.

Great care must be taken not to change the order of the intakes and increases, as any mistake of the kind would break the lines of squares, and interfere with the subsequent embroidery, unless there happened to be more loops in the stripe than stitches in the pattern, in which case the superfluous loops might be cut away when the embroidery is finished.

STRAIGHT NETTING WITH A SCALLOPED EDGE (fig. 629).—The second way of making stripes of straight netting is to begin by a square. After making two loops on the foundation loop, make rows with increases, until you have the required number of loops. Then make an increase in every row to the left and leave the last loop empty in every row to the right. Continuing the increases on the left, you net 4 rows, without increasing or decreasing on the right, whilst in the next 4, you again leave the outside loop empty.

[Illustration: FIG. 629. STRAIGHT NETTING WITH A SCALLOPED EDGE.]

SQUARE FRAME OF NETTING (fig. 630).—Handkerchief, counterpane and chair-back borders can be netted in one piece, leaving an empty square in the centre. After casting on the loops as for an ordinary square of netting, letter _a_, increase them to double the number required for the border. Thus, for example, if the border is to consist of 3 squares, you make 6 loops, then leave 3 loops empty on the left and continue to work to the right and decrease to the left, up to the dotted line from _c_ to _c_. After this you begin to decrease on the right and increase on the left, up to the dotted line from _e_ to _e_.

[Illustration: FIG. 630. SQUARE FRAME OF NETTING.]

Leaving the right side of the net, you now fasten on the thread at _c_, where the 3 empty loops are, and here you make your increases on the right side and your intakes on the left, till you come to the corner, from whence you decrease on the right and increase on the left, up to letter _g_. Stop on the left side and then work from left to right, passing over the row that is marked _e_. The fourth corner, letter _b_, is worked like any other piece of straight netting, with an intake in each row, until there are only two loops left.

[Illustration: FIG. 631. DIAGONAL NETTING WITH CROSSED LOOPS. ORIGINAL SIZE. MATERIALS—For the netting: Cordonnet 6 fils D.M.C Nos. 10 to 30, or Fil à dentelle D.M.C Nos. 25 to 40.[A] For the darning stitches: Coton à tricoter D.M.C Nos. 12 to 20, or Coton à repriser D.M.C Nos. 12 to 50.[A]]

DIAGONAL NETTING WITH CROSSED LOOPS (figs. 631 and 632). To work this simple and effective pattern, begin by making a stripe of plain netting, 14 loops in width, for the middle. When it is long enough for your purpose, take up all the loops on one side on a strong thread; fasten the work to the cushion again and work 3 rows, along the other edge in the following manner.

1st row—long loops, to be made by the thread being passed thrice over the mesh.

2nd row—here, 3 loops are so made as to cross each other, that is, you begin by putting your netting-needle at first into the 3rd loop, counting from left to right, then into the 1st, and lastly into the middle one of the three, so that the right loop leans to the left and the left one to the right.

3rd row—one plain loop in each of the loops of the previous row. You now, draw out the thread, run in on the other side, and run it in through the loops last made, in order to make 3 rows again, as above described, on the bottom side.

[Illustration: FIG. 632. WORKING DETAIL OF FIG. 631.]

When this is done, you begin the scallops, composed of 12 knots or 11 loops, or 14 loops and 15 knots = net 5 rows, leaving the outside loops empty, fig. 632, stop on the left and proceed with: 6 knots or 5 plain loops, 2 or 3 long loops with 3 overs, 3 plain loops = turn the work = 3 plain loops, 3 knots = turn the work = 2 loops with 3 overs, 3 knots = turn the work = 2 plain loops, 2 knots = turn the work = cross 2 or 3 loops, according to the number you crossed in the middle, then carry the working thread to the middle of the long loops, and connect them by 2 knots = pass the needle under the knot of the last long loop, then, on the right side net: 3 plain loops = turn the work = 3 plain loops, 3 knots = turn the work = 2 plain loops, 2 knots = turn the work and continue the rows of plain netting until you have only 2 loops left.

To reach the next scallop, pass the netting-needle through each hole of the net and round each thread.