Fig. 476. Pattern of a counterpane in tunisian crochet.
Materials: Coton pour crochet D.M.C Nos. 6 to 8, or Coton à tricoter D.M.C Nos. 6 to 12.[A]
Colours: Gris-Amadou 385 and Rouge-Cardinal 346, Vert-Bouteille 492 and Violet-Mauve 316, or Bleu-Gentiane 479 and Gris-Écru 706.
For the first coloured border, which immediately surrounds the centre square, take a coloured thread and make 2 chain stitches and upon these the common Tunisian stitch, fig. [444]. Increase to the right in every row by one stitch, to the number of 6 = then put the needle into the first stitch on one side of the square, turn the thread round and draw it through. Here you must be careful to observe, in the first instance, that the second part which is now to be joined to the square, should always remain on the left side of the square and secondly, that the thread with which you join the two parts together, should lie to the left and be drawn through, from the wrong side to the right. Having now got 7 Tunisian stitches on the needle, make 18 double rows, and join the last stitch of each row to a stitch of the square.
When these rows are finished, you proceed to decrease on the right till you have only 2 stitches left; and then again to increase as at the beginning of the stripe. At each increase, after each double row you must pass the thread through the corresponding stitch opposite of the same row. When you have again got 7 stitches on the needle, join them as before to the square. Work round the 4 sides of the square in this manner and when you come to the last decrease, join the stitches to those of the first increase, and fasten off. The next stripes are to be worked in the same way; they may be made either wider or narrower, plain, or ornamented with a cross stitch pattern which you work upon them.
Pattern of counterpane worked in stripes (fig. [477]).—This is intended for a child’s coverlet and is worked in pale blue, Bleu-Indigo 334, and white; the stripes and the lace border, in white, the setting, partly in white, partly in blue.
Fig. 477. Pattern of counterpane worked in stripes.
Materials: Coton pour crochet D.M.C Nos. 6 to 12, Coton à tricoter D.M.C Nos. 6 to 14, or Cordonnet 6 fils D.M.C No. 15.[A]
For the first stripe, make a foundation chain of 26 stitches; then counting back, draw the needle through the 6th and 7th chain stitches, drawing up all the three loops together = 2 chain, then put the needle again through 2 chain stitches, draw up the 3 loops together = 2 chain and so on.
Coming back, make the loop of the first stitch and that of the second on the chain stitches of the preceding row = begin every row with 3 chain, which form picots along the edge of the stripe; when the stripes are finished, take a blue thread and make 1 plain stitch on each picot and 3 chain.
This blue row is followed by a white one, worked in cluster stitch, fig. [426], with 2 chain stitches between every 2 clusters.
Then follows another blue row of one plain stitch on each chain stitch of the previous row. The second blue row consists entirely of plain stitches worked along the long sides of the stripes, which are joined together afterwards, but not along the short sides until the counterpane is finished; then the stitches should border all the 4 sides. The second stripe, which should be of the same width as the first, is worked in Tunisian crochet; for the edge make one row of plain stitches in blue, one of cluster stitches in white, and then again a row of plain in blue.