I've finally finished (and photographed) the hairpin lace shawl I made for a young friend of mine who just graduated from the university.
Here is a shot of the shawl draped over my wicker form. This shawl is comprised of 5 strips of hairpin lace with the center strip having an extra twist in the loops.
As you can see in the photo above, I twisted the loops twice before joining with a stitch.
Okay, so now you've seen the finished shawl -- how did I make it? First, you need a hairpin loom and a crochet hook. By working around the loom and crocheting down the center, you create the base of a very pretty lace.
At the top of the photo, you can see the Boye Hairpin Loom that I recently purchased. I used Caron's Dazzleaire yarn in a lovely bone color. The pattern called for 240 loops on each side. In order to keep track of the loops as I worked (and to allow me to slide off completed groups), I used safety pins to hold 10 loops together. I could easily keep track of the number of loops this way. The pattern actually gathered only 5 loops at a time, which was also easy to keep track of with the 10 loop groups.
Once you've got a 240 loop strip complete, you join the 5 loop groups into an edge with chains in between.
Finally, you attach the strips together with more chains worked between the rows to form a pretty diamond pattern.
I am so very pleased with the finished piece, that I think that I will make myself the same shawl (pattern from Red Heart Yarn's Hairpin Lace Shawl). Maybe in a pale brown or dark green color for the fall season.
My next project is a cotton dress for my granddaughter, Alexa. Hope to show it off soon.
In my last blog, someone asked me to post a photograph of my completed Mystery Crochet Pattern purse, so here it is!!!!
I REALLY LOVE THE WAY THIS TURNED OUT!!!
