What is cluny crochet?

Answer 1

Cluny lace was developed during the second half of the 19th century, inspired by lace samples originally worked during the 16th century. It was usually worked in coarse linen threads and used to trim household items, such as table and bed linens. This sample was worked in 35/2 linen lace thread, from a pattern taken from the Maidment book. The rose ground was worked with cloth stitches in the corners, and half stitches for the rest. The daisy is worked in an interesting manner. Work the top two petals, plus the footside side petal first. Then cloth stitch the bobbins from the side petal (using the four bobbins as if they were two, windmill style) through the paired bobbins of the top two petals to the outside. Include these 2 worker pairs in the curved trail to help keep it thick. When you get down to the end of the trail, work the lower outside petal, then windmill the 2 pairs back through the same paired bobbins you worked through the first time. Now work the final 3 petals. If you look closely, you can see that this was the sample I used to learn how to make leaves. The first few are pretty scrawny and wilted looking, but as I got more comfortable with the process they really started looking pretty decent. The 'secret', for me, is to tie a half knot using the outer 2 bobbins to hold the leaf securely after you make it. * http://www.tussah.com/lace/cluny.htm