Dear Sharon,
The old DMC Irish Crochet patterns used dotted lines to indicate the
general size the background mesh as well as the direction in which it was worked.
You can adapt this idea for you christening gown project by working a swatch
in the ground of your choice and measuring the size of the row of loops made.
Transfer this information to your christening gown pattern in the form of
dotted lines spaced the same distance. As you become more skilled, you may be
able to judge the size of the backgrounds by eye.
Your swatches should give you information about your natural working
tension too. After finishing the swatch, release it from the background. Measure
it and compare that measurement to the pattern size. For many Irish
Lacemakers their swatches shrink a little bit. You can compensate for this shrinkage
by enlarging the overal size of each pattern piece by 1/8 of an inch although
this amount can vary from lacemaker to lacemaker. A garment project is
different from from making lace edgings in that each pattern piece must be the right
size in relation to the pattern piece to which it will be sewn.
I hope this helps you. Write again about your progress. The lacemakers
on the list are all very generous with their knowledge and interested in the
success of your project.
Judith Brandau
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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