To add 2 cents to what Nicole and others have said on this topic: 1) it doesn't matter which side you start from 2) start from the side that will best hide the last end (usually the "inside") 3) it DOES matter how you start the knot in the Brugge Tie-Off: If you're working left to right, start with left over right If you're working right to left, start with right over left
Parenthetically, it DOESN'T matter how you start the knot if you're just working a square (reef) knot, (L-over-R or R-over-L) as long as you do the opposite thing with the second row. I always start with L-over-R because I'm left handed, and I can remember it. Just pick something, and do it the same way all the time, that way you don't have to go through a big puzzle each time as to what you need to do. As to getting the knots to be even and "roll under" beautifully, I've noticed two big contributing factors: 1) The evenness of the tape being ended 2) Tension 1: If the tape is a straight run of cloth stitch, the roll behaves more nicely than if it is a mix of stitches. The Rosalibre flower ends with mostly cloth stitch, but there is a gap in the center of the petal due to a twisted worker. This causes a little bit of unevenness, because all of the threads are not coming into the knots with exactly the same tension. 2: Tension is most of the art of this. Being "firm but gentle" with the tension, and trying to set each knot carefully and evenly is the biggest contributor to having the second row sit nicely. As you're tensioning, you'll observe that the threads coming "over" the last weft thread will allow themselves to be tensioned more than the threads coming "under" the last weft thread. The goal isn't to tension them all as much as they can go, but to tension each thread in such a way to create one even straight line. So "over" threads get a little less tension than "under" threads. Also, when you work the knots, be sure to roll the bobbins in your hands in such a way that you eliminate any twists in the thread, and that the knot lies evenly distributed across both threads--not one thread twisted around the other. This, more than anything else, will give you good results in doing any square knot. Now, with all that said, I'd like to remind you (this means you, Tamara) that this on the BACK of the lace, and DOESN'T SHOW, so don't worry so much about it!!!! Cathy Belleville Enjoying the mild summer that has finally arrived in Los Altos, California - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
