Hi Spiders, After some talk on Arachne not too long ago about Punto Fiandra from Gorizia, Italy, I wandered over to some Italian websites to see if there was a good enough image to see the thread paths. In the background of the Italia Invita website on the course description for Fiandra, there was a nice big picture. Artistically faded into the background, but a good picture of most of the technical points of the lace. I copied the background, darkened the picture and increased the contrast (felt like a spy!) and voila! I could see what was going on.
Fiandra is made with three pairs. It also has nothing to do with Flanders, despite its name. The designs are looping curlicues with single thread knotted picots and lots of sewings. There being only three threads in the tape (if you want to call it that, it's more of a robust plait) turning any kind of corner is a snap. I found a free Fiandra pattern, and the whole pattern is one, single three pair plait from start to finish. (This put me in mind of Tamara's Two Pair Inventions, which seem to be more in the Russian tradition). Occasionally, two pairs veer off and make a true plait, which I deduced because the pattern showed a long picot with picots on it (can't do that with two threads, although the first time I made a nine pine edge I tried to do just that!). So last night, at lace class, I decided to see if I could reproduce what I saw. It's working! The first problem was to see how to make the three pair plait. The picture show no edge stitches at all. This produces a looping chain effect which reminded me of a chain edge in knitting where you slip the first stitch of every row. Okay, three pairs, no edge stitches. Here's what I did. (I was using Filatu di Cantu size 30, which I had lying around, already wound on Rosaline bobbins for Cantu, a very nice shape for this work.) Middle pair works a cloth stitch (CTC) with the left pair Right pair works cloth stitch left through both stitches Tension Right pair works cloth stitch left through both pairs Tension after each pair Repeat, repeat, repeat . . . . . In the basic plait, you don't work back! It is one directional, right to left. I suppose you could work it left to right, but I worked right to left. After the plait is a few stitches long, stab it in place on the pattern. I have a little Cantu under my belt, so this isn't too strange. Italian Fiandra workers would probably laugh at my the way I was pinning. I don't think I went more than half a centimeter before I pinned. Also, seeing where the sewings would take place as the plait crossed itself in a loop, I would be sure to put a pin there so the sewing would be easier when I got to it. Whenever a pair arrives at picot, make a single thread, knotted picot (which I had to learn for this occasion). As I progressed through the pattern, I decided to take the pair that made the picot back through the middle pair and then returned to the basic three pair method. When working a two pair plait, I took the outside pair through the middle pair, set a pin between the two pairs for the plait and made the plait ( which always returns to the original point), sewed into the start of the plait, and again worked back through the middle pair before continuing with the basic three pair plait. Like any tape lace that folds back on itself, you need to push the pins down to the pattern. When the tape crosses itself in a loop, the sewing is just to attach the work to itself. I worked longer bars by working a false plait (twisting the pair, sewing to the connection point, twist, sew to the first part of the bar, twist) and worked back through the middle pair. I have no way of knowing if this the preferred traditional method. I'll try to get a picture up on the Arachne Webshots page tonight. There is a small complication in that when I printed the pattern, I forgot that I had glossy photo paper in the printer. So I am working white on white. (who is that crazy woman?). websites: Italia Invita: http://www.italiainvita.it/ Free pattern: http://www.tombolodisegni.it/ Click on "Disegni Free" The pattern I am working is in the first column, the second pricking. There are two flower patterns, I am working the one on the left. Patty Dowden - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
