Starting to Topstitch the Bell

I worked my way around all three bells, adding to my original trace threads. When I got to the bottom of the bells, I added a very fine wire. It's one strand of some wire J. gave me 2 years ago.

I asked him what it was, and he shrugged, "Automotive wire" was all he said. It's 12 strands, wrapped in blue, very fine.

I have some heavier electrical wire I tried when I made my candle. That felt good in my hand, but chunky when on the lace, so I'm trying a lighter weight.

I finished top stitching around one bell, and just had to show my progress. I was so careful with my stitches, I made sure each thread was in the right place before I made the next one. So far, so good, and I hope I can sit down this afternoon and work a little more. I get into a rhythm with the stitches, and it looks good. I just have to remember to be careful until I get into the swing of things.

Ready to Finish

I chose Corded Triple Brussels for the center band on my little bell. I'm really happy with how it looks, my stitches look good and my tension is pretty even, too.

Now I have to think awhile and decide how I'm going to finish it. At first I thought I would use wire in my cordonnet. I have lots of different wire to choose from, my DH has electrical wire and automotive wire, and more I don't know about.

Then I looked at my finished leaves and compared them to my bell. The leaves are all firm and hold their shape very well without any wire. My bell will be about the same size, and I don't know that I need wire down each edge. I could use wire on the bottom edges, though. Then I could shape a rounded bottom edge, rather than a straight one.

I think of this as my practice pad, rather than a sampler. I can try out a stitch without thinking about shape, color or size. I just fill the square and see what it looks like.

You've seen the first square - Corded Single Brussels on the top, Corded Double Brussels on the bottom, both with Coats Metallic sewing thread used as the cord.

The second square is Pea Stitch. I wanted to switch to Pea Stitch Variation for the second half, but the spacing just didn't work out. I finished it, but didn't like doing the stitch at all. I kept losing the loop, and had to be very particular where I put my needle.

The third square is Corded Triple Brussles, I added the metallic sewing thread for the second half. You can see a lot of the cord that way, I think it might give you the most sparkle, but I liked the top half better.

Progress Again - With Bells On

I filled in the bottom half with corded double Brussels, and I'm really happy with how it looks. Since I'm going to join the bell at the edges, I want the stitches to look alike. I'm learning there are lots of ways to vary the same stitch. It's not like knitting, where if I use the same yarn and same size needle, I'll usually get something similar enough to call a pair.
I can inadvertantly vary stitch spacing, depth of rows, or number of rows, and the area looks as though it's been filled with a different stitch. One of the beautiful, intriguing things about needle lace, but not something I wanted to explore this time.
So I was careful and started each section with the same number of paired stitches, and tried my best to make it look the same.

I'm not sure how I'm going to fill the middle section, I have plenty of options rolling around in my head. I thought I should do something different, and actually sample some stitches before I started this last filling.

I got the idea for this sampler from Lorelei Halley's website. In the middle of this page, she shows a sampler, and I thought that was a good idea, and set out to make one for myself.
Four hours later, I'm still couching the trace thread! I quit last night when my eyes were watering so bad I swallowed tears when I yawned, and yawned and yawned.

I have a few squares outlined, that's enough for now. I tried a technique described by Elizabeth Ligeti in the Fall 2009 IOLI Bulletin. She gives patterns for 3 Christmas ornaments, and uses metallic thread. In two of them she doubles the metallic thread with the cotton, but in the candle, she uses a "two needle" method. Basically, you make your buttonhole stitches with the cotton, and the metallic for the cord.

This is a pretty good close up of my little sample. I started with single corded Brussels, then switched to double corded Brussels for comparison.

I'm still not sure if I'll be able to see any sparkle on my little bell, and I may sample another stitch or two before I decide which stitch I want to use.

The graph paper was originally 8 squares to the inch, but Open Office crunched it down to 9 squares per inch. That's the reality check for this post.

Progress on the Bell and a Reality Check

I am excited to see how the bell turns out, and spent a lot of time on this project yesterday.

I am keeping to the KISS principle, and used single corded Brussels on the tops, and double corded Brussels on the bottom. I'm especially pleased with the last bit, it looks very well spaced, even with my Mag Eyes.

I plan to fill in the middle with a Pea Stitch, or maybe Treble Brussels. I really like the way the different stitches create texture and interest in your work, without changing color. The yellow leaf below shows that very well.


Not much to say here, except my good friend reminded that I had not shown my leaves with a reality check - a ruler to give you the proper perspective. The spines of the oak leaf and the yellow leaf measure at least 3" (8 cm). The little leaves are only 1 1/2" (4 cm).

My first needle lace projects were worked with pearl cotton, first #8 then #12. If I were starting again, I'd do one leaf with #8, then move right to #80 tatting thread, or even the Gutterman 100/3 silk, if you have a selection of that handy.

Since I'm a tatt3r, I have an embarrassment of tatting thread, and I will keep using #80 while I learn my stitches. (Similar to a murder of crows, or a school of fish, I'm sure the proper term is an embarrassment of thread.)

I'd like to do a few more leaves, reds and oranges. It would make a pretty display, and show my progress as a sampler would.

Beginning a New Project

I'm starting a Christmas ornament in needle lace. If you look back through my blog, you'll see I've started a needle lace ornament at least twice. I always thought my ornaments were not good enough, and traded tatted ornaments instead. I'm giving it another try this year, starting with enough time to tat something when this one doesn't work.

I'm trying a 3D bell my DH drew for me. He did all sorts of calcuations with Pi and Radius and such, and drew something he says is 1/3 of a bell. I copied the bell onto a grid at 60 degree angles, and it should be interesting to see what works.

I have some wire to buttonhole over, and now I've started my fillings. I started with single corded Brussels, and thought I would take a scan to show my beginning.

I found a small notebook with pastel pages - I thought it would help me see the white stitches more clearly. I got tired of working on the heavy blue paper I use for bobbin lace prickings. For now I like the flexibility of paper, contact paper, and muslin fabric. It rolls nicely in my hand, so I can get the stitches a little neater.

I've included my drawing, the original size was about 3 1/2 x 4 inches, which should give a bell about 1 1/2 inches long.

Finished a Yellow Leaf

I used #80 tatting cotton, color 744. It's a bright yellow, and it was hard to see my stitches because I used white paper for my pattern. I should have known better.

I used the basic stitches, single and double Brussels, corded and uncorded. I need to practice these stitches until they are perfect every time. From what I can see, these are the bread and butter of needle lace, like stockinette and garter in knitting.

I took my time with the outline at the end, and it looks better to my eye. Still not perfect, but better.

I'm thinking about another leaf, but I've started Christmas knitting, and I need to start an ornament for the lace group.

Oak Leaf in Needle lace - Done!

I love the colors, but I can see it takes more skill than I have. I can see the "warts" but I'm still happy with my leaf.

I need to make many more leaves before I advance to a more difficult pattern.

It's the perfect time of year to collect leaves, and I picked 3 yesterday on my walk with J and the dog. We're getting lots of rain, which knocks the leaves down if they've turned color.

I'm deciding which one to do next. I know I will use one color of tatting cotton, since I didn't get to the JoAnn shop for Guttermann silk thread. I can practice with tatting thread, and save the silk for a more skilled hand.

Oak Leaf in Needle lace

Last night I found the oak leaf I started in June, and finished the fillings. I kept it simple, and practiced Corded Single Brussels Stitch.

My leaf is ready for more cordonnet and the outline. I used #80 tatting thread, a brown variegated from M, and tan from my stash. I am thinking about what I want to do for the top stitching. I'm not sure which color I want to use.

J. bought a magnifier similar to MagEyes for his guitar building, and I have been using it for needle lace. It makes all the difference, my stitches have improved tremendously. There's still room for improvement, I know.

I'm using tatting thread for both cordonnet and fillings. My booklet from The Guild of Needlelaces uses tatting thread for cordonnet and silk for fillings. I know Guttermann silk would work, but I don't have a nice stash on hand. I notice the tatting thread twists, and think I'll try the silk in the hope it would not twist. I will stop at the local JoAnn shop and see if they have some autumn colors for my next leaf.