Darning

Once you have your mesh stretched in a frame, the next step is to decorate it. This requires only a needle and a pattern. I prefer a medium crewel needle, with not too sharp a point. But most any needle will serve, so long as the eye is large enough to carry your thread. As for patterns, I will address that in a moment.

But what thread do you darn with? Generally, I use the same thread I used to make the mesh. If I used #30 white crochet cotton to make the mesh, then #30 white cotton is what I darn with. But monochrome, while popular, is certainly not your only option. In period, lace was done in different colors; a portrait of Elizabeth I shows her wearing a cloak decorated with black mesh; the mesh had been darned with red and gold threads. (Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd, by Janet Arnold). Very late-period Spanish examples has mesh being darned not only with different colors of thread, but with different sizes. A heavy thread in a fine-thread mesh -- or vice versa -- can create some very interesting effects.

So, you have your mesh, your needle, and have chosen your darning thread,
what next?


Fig 1: Buttonhole stitch
Buttonhole stitch

First you want to finish the edge of your work, particularly if you are working in square mesh. Thread your needle with a good length of thread. Tie the trailing end of your thread tightly - a firm square knot will do - to the edge of your mesh. Make buttonhole stitches around the outer thread of the mesh. (Figure 1 is a simple diagram of the buttonhole stitch, if you’re not familiar with it).



When you run out of thread, take a couple tight stitches, and cut away the remaining thread; leave a tail a couple inches long dangling. Tie on the new thread, just as before, catching the dangling tail in the knot. Now, continue the buttonhole stitch, covering the dangling tail of your previous thread (and your new tie-in), so that they is hidden under the buttonholes. After about ten stitches, cut off the remainder of the tails, close to the knotting. This makes your thread change almost invisible.

When you have completely bound the edge, you are ready to being darning the pattern.


Fig 2: Darning stitch
Darning stitch
Probably the simplest decorating stitch available to you is the Darning stitch. It is the simplest stitch, being simply an over-under basketweave. Carry the thread under the left hand mesh thread, then back and over the right. Next over the left, and over the right. Just like weaving a basket. If you’re doing longer stretches, it simply carries on with the original basketweave over-under, going over and under alternately until you reach the end of the row you want to cover. Whole patterns can be worked just in this one simple stitch.



Fig 3: Darning stitch carried across several meshes
Darning stitch carried across several meshes




Cloth stitch
A very similar stitch is the Cloth stitch. In this one, the darning stitch (usually only two or three passes) are carried through the involved meshes. Then a turn is made at one corner, and the Darning stitch is done at right angles, with the thread interweaving between not only the mesh edges, but the stitches you've already carried through that mesh. The effect is that of woven cloth. While it sounds like the antithesis of lace, it creates a very striking and beautiful effect.




Interlock stitch, step 1
Another stitch used is called the Interlock stitch. It sounds and looks complicated, but it is actually very simple: it is a stretched out buttonhole stitch, that turns back on itself at the end of each row. Anchor the thread on the side of a mesh that is to be filled with interlock stitch. Then, carry the thread up to the first cross thread. Carry the thread to the next square, and across, until you have entered a loose buttonhole-stitch-type loop in each square. Then, you carry another loose buttonhole stitch to the lefthand upright of the mesh.



Finally, you begin to work back toward where you started, again, doing a loose buttonhole stitch in the bottom of the mesh. But, where it crosses into the next square, you pass behind the mesh thread, looping with the first threads. Continue like that until you have gotten back to where you started. If you’ve done it correctly, then it will look like a little star or flower is centered, more or less, in each affected mesh.
Fig 5: Interlock stitch, step 2
Interlock stitch, step 2




Interlock stich - the finished product

Interlock stich - the finished product carried over several meshes




The interlock stitch as described here is perfect for square patterns. But there is also a variation possible for drawing diagonal lines. The stitch is the same stretched buttonhole, but it is arranged a little differently. Instead of the loop going around the middle of the mesh edge, it is going around the corner, as in the diagram below. The effect is slightly different in appearance, creating a small "windowpane" in each affected mesh.



Interlock stitch - on the diagonal, step 1

Interlock stitch - on the diagonal, step 2




Vining stitch
Vining stitch is one of the prettier stitches, when done in combination with other stitches in a pattern; it creates a thin line, like vining through the mesh. It is done simply as a running stitch that passes around and through the mesh threads. Then it is turned back on itself, weaving around the original thread, and the mesh edges, until it is essentially doubled.




Darning stitches are not the only options available to you. Embroidered slips were certainly attached to mesh as decorations, as were cloth appliques of varying levels of complexity. Beading was also applied to mesh, with beautiful results.


[The information and images on this website are Copyright of Lady Cecilia Bartoletti (June). You may make a copy and use any information contained herein for personal use only, or for SCA documentation purposes. Unauthorised publication is not permitted.]

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