Comments on: A Knitting Mystery

By: Linda

Linda — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:21:04 +0000

Looking at the closeup of the afghan it is done in basic hairpin lace and the strips are joined with a cable join using three loops at a time. If you visit the stitch diva website, it has a tutorial section that will show you how to make hairpin lace, join the strips and also how to finish off the edge with no further yarn required. Hope this helps. Nice afghan by the way, it’s given me a few ideas.

By: Jamie - PA

Jamie - PA — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 10:37:46 +0000

I have an afghan like this that my aunt made for me in the 70s. I do not have a pattern for it, but probably if you look for hairpin lace afghan patterns, either online, or search Ebay for vintage patterns, you will find it. Mine has looped fringe around the four sides to finish it.

By: Ann - Kansas

Ann - Kansas — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 21:42:26 +0000

On the afghan the bobby pins are holding the final ends of the woven hairpin loops so they will not come loose. There are several ways to secure these ends. One way is to use single crochet stitches and chain stitches and as you come to the places where the bobby pins are you make a single crochet into all the loops together as one, then make some chain stitches, and sc into the next place where the bobby pin is and so on. If you only want to work along the ends of the afghan, then start with a sc in one corner and work across the end as stated and end with a sc in the next corner, and fasten off. (Then add fringe if wanted, or another row or rows of whatever kind of stitches you want to use.)
Or you can begin in one corner with a single crochet, then *make enough love knots (also called Salomon’s Knots) to reach the place where the bobby pin is, and single crochet into all the loops as one, and repeat from *
across the end of the afghan. Then repeat this along the opposite end, or you can continue on around the entire afghan making love knots and single crochets along the sides, spaced evenly and the same number of love knots between where you make the single crochets, then continue across the other end, and along the other side. (Put a single crochet, one love knot, and a single crochet in each corner of the afghan.)
Hope this helps.
Ann

By: desiknitter

desiknitter — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 03:54:38 +0000

I think it’s cool that the hair pin lace afghan was secured with hairpins!! I hope you’ll be able to figure out the cabled sweater, it looks really pretty!

By: mel

mel — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 02:15:58 +0000

That sweater is lovely, it will be so great to finish it and have something that your grandmother started and you finished, what a beautiful tie between generations. I have a similar sweater that is about half complete, but I’m not quite ready to tackle it yet. Maybe next year!

The neckline looks to me like the center stitches may have been bound off or put on a holder and then the sides of the neckline worked separately with different balls of yarn, as you mentioned. I knit a sweater like this last fall. But I’m not sure why one side would have been unraveled, unless she discovered a mistake?

Good luck!!

By: Martha in Kansas

Martha in Kansas — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 17:41:10 +0000

Two interesting projects to figure out! And I agree with Msbehave that these will be inter-generational treasures.

The blanket is very definitely hairpin lace, which I think goes by other names too. I knew how to do this in my youth, but have forgotten. It involved a giant “hair-pin” — a big u-shaped metal wire. You wrapped yarn around it and with each wrap, crocheted the loops together in the middle (between the legs of the pin). Somehow (another part I can’t remember) you fasten the loops of each new row together with previous rows. There must be on-line tutorials for this. If I did it as a kid, you can figure it out and finish the afghan. Ask your aunt to look through her remaining stash for the hairpin thingie. Likely it’s still there and she didn’t know what it was for. Oh, and you just use a crochet hook for the middle crocheting.

Looking forward to seeing how you finish these!

By: Jo Anna

Jo Anna — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 15:32:18 +0000

Hi,

The lace panel looks like the gull pattern from Elizabeth Zimmermans Baby Sweater in the Knitters Almanac. It is a very easy 7 stitch repeat.

The blanket is hairpin lace. Pretty too. It would be worth finishing!

Jo Anna

By: Msbehave

Msbehave — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 23:38:02 +0000

The blanket is definitely hairpin lace which is made from crocheting up between two spindles. If I hadn’t seen the loosened seams on the sweater I’d have thought she finished the one side and hadn’t gotten to the other, but it looks like what’s unravelled is just what was done after separating for the neckline. A little patience in following the completed side should let you recreate what’s gone.

But what a treasure to have something that will have both your generations work going into it. Truly heirloom pieces!!!

By: LadyJayde

LadyJayde — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 21:26:46 +0000

I agree with Carrie – it looks like hairpin lace to me, too.

By: Marie

Marie — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 20:31:17 +0000

That’s such a beautiful sweater! I think I agree with you about the discrepancy in the height of the two edges of the front. It looks like one side just came off a holder and unraveled…
The blanket is so very interesting! I really like the ways the braided strips look with the middle lace-like strips but I too have no clue how it was constructed. Do share if you ever find out!