My knitting labors this weekend were all about Lotus.
As it turns out, it takes longer than I expected to crochet all the way around the edge. I got things started and am almost through the 5th row of 10 -- which sounds impressive until you realize that the next 5 rows are much more complicated and take a lot more time than the lace that provides the foundation.
Simplicity, however, does not take away from the loveliness that is the foundation for the big flouncy border lace.
It is not difficult to convert this flat crocheted border that is sewn on after the fact to a border that is crocheted in the round and attached to the garment. I started at the back of the neck (but you couldn't really tell at this point except for the yarn where I started) because I know that any differences will be almost invisible because of my hair. For the first row or so, it does take a lot of counting -- because you do have to figure out how to end up with enough of those lacework openings to create an even number of the big flouncy repeats. I started by doing a row of slip stitch all the way around the edge to provide a foundation. I counted as I went so I knew how many stitches and then I worked things out to have an even number of repeats -- I ended up with one more repeat than called for if the edging was crocheted flat. This was another reason that I wanted to do the edging in the round. While I got stitch gauge on target, my row gauge was a little compressed. This meant that I got a few more rows to reach any given measurement, and that good stitch counts for the border would be slightly different than originally designed for. Also, when I did Audrey, I knit the border separately and attached it -- and I never really liked how the joined area looked. Here you can see that the edge is quite nice!
So now it's just a matter of keeping plugging away until I reach the finish line. I have no doubts that a few more "in progress" discussions will be the subject of future posts!
As it turns out, it takes longer than I expected to crochet all the way around the edge. I got things started and am almost through the 5th row of 10 -- which sounds impressive until you realize that the next 5 rows are much more complicated and take a lot more time than the lace that provides the foundation.Simplicity, however, does not take away from the loveliness that is the foundation for the big flouncy border lace. It is not difficult to convert this flat crocheted border that is sewn on after the fact to a border that is crocheted in the round and attached to the garment. I started at the back of the neck (but you couldn't really tell at this point except for the yarn where I started) because I know that any differences will be almost invisible because of my hair. For the first row or so, it does take a lot of counting -- because you do have to figure out how to end up with enough of those lacework openings to create an even number of the big flouncy repeats. I started by doing a row of slip stitch all the way around the edge to provide a foundation. I counted as I went so I knew how many stitches and then I worked things out to have an even number of repeats -- I ended up with one more repeat than called for if the edging was crocheted flat. This was another reason that I wanted to do the edging in the round. While I got stitch gauge on target, my row gauge was a little compressed. This meant that I got a few more rows to reach any given measurement, and that good stitch counts for the border would be slightly different than originally designed for. Also, when I did Audrey, I knit the border separately and attached it -- and I never really liked how the joined area looked. Here you can see that the edge is quite nice!
So now it's just a matter of keeping plugging away until I reach the finish line. I have no doubts that a few more "in progress" discussions will be the subject of future posts!
Lotus is looking great! I am almost done with the last sleeve and have only the border lace that you are doing. I will follow your example and do it in the round.