Today’s knitting pattern is a very unusual lace edging rescued from the advice column of the Melbourne Leader from 1884. I’m a sucker for any 19th century lace edging that doesn’t have a picture of the finished lace, because they’re usually ignored or missed by modern knitters and are sometimes very special, like this one.
Check out the knitting pattern for “Uncommon Lace”. I’ve updated, charted and test knit it so you don’t have to.
This week’s favourite things Thursday comes with a tutorial for making your own teneriffe lace cushion!
One of my favourite types of needlework is any textile for which the major tools needed are a needle and thread. Whether it is needle lace edgings such as oya ignesi with it’s stunning floral and geometric designs, needle lace (I’m a fan of the more colourful and modern pieces), or teneriffe lace, if it’s portable I’ll give it a go.
Many years ago I bought a teneriffe lace cushion called a Koppo cushion and was flooded with requests to buy it or to tell people where they could get one. Unfortunately, since they were made in 1955 that wasn’t going to be possible. Even worse, I seem to have lost mine when we moved house, so I made a replacement and you can too. (I’m hoping it will still turn up but considering how organised most of my gear is, I doubt it).
My poor lost, beloved Koppo cushion
I’ve written a full tutorial on sewing the cushion with two options on how to make the top (leather or paper), what to fill it with and a link to an amazing book that will teach you all you need to know about making your lace. Thanks to some notes I kept and the patent online, I even managed to recreate the top of the Koppo cushion accurately so I have my favourite piece of needlework gear back!
Check out my new tutorial on making a teneriffe lace pillow, aka Koppo cushion.
If you’d like to keep up to date with new tutorials, patterns and other needlework related goodies that go on around here, subscribe to the site to receive an email when new stuff appears. Over on the left (on desktop), or underneath the post on tablet or mobile.
This week in our “And so To Sew” series, leaflet 11a will teach you how to sew a nightie without using a pattern and how to sew pyjamas from a commercial pattern. We also build on your library of techniques with frills, casings, machine sewn felled seams and sewing a collar and facing in one step.
In “And So To Embroider” leaflet 11b, we learn how to design and edit embroideries using cut paper. How to vary the look of the same design by using different stitches, appliqué with a couched edge and make a notebook holder.
As always, I have added modern video or photo tutorials to each page for my fellow visual learners.
We still have a long way to go with the “And So To” series of bulletins! Make sure to visit every Tuesday (Australian Eastern) for new sewing and embroidery content, every Thursday for the week’s “Favourite Thing” (it could be anything, this week it’s a whole tutorial!), and every Saturday for a new knitting pattern.
This week’s knitting pattern is a lace edging I have named “Narracoorte Lace“, after the newspaper it was first published in, in 1890.
As always, I have updated the pattern into modern knitting terms, charted it and tested it for errors. Despite it’s complex looking design, narracoorte lace is only 17 stitches wide and 10 rows long, making it really good value for your effort!
There are now over 183 edging and insertion patterns on Knitting-and.com and they can all be found on the “Lace Collars, Edgings and Insertions” pages. (I include collars because they often make great edgings too). If you’re ever looking for a perfect finish to your project, check them out!
This week’s installments of “And So To Sew” and “And So To Embroider” bring us to week 10. This week we’ll learn all about the techniques used to sew a woollen dress from a commercial pattern, how to sew a tailored collar and cuffs (pattern included), and how to use simple embroidery stitches to create motifs and borders.
Check out “And So To Sew” leaflet 10a, sewing with wool.
Find out all about “And So To Embroider” bulletin 10b. Designing with Stitches.
As always, I have included modern video or photo tutorials for everyone who enjoys learning by example.
If you’d like to stay up to date with every new item I add to the website, subscribe to the email list over on the left (on desktop), or under this post on tablet or mobile. You’ll receive a quick email every time I add something new.
