Encyclopedia of Needlework Part 51

Netting.

Netting is a handicraft, so ancient that it would be difficult to trace it to its origin, or determine the date of its invention. There is evidence to show that the making of nets for fishing and game catching was as familiar to the earlier races of mankind as it is to us.

Practised in the first instance for the wants of life, it by degrees developed into an art, in conjunction with embroidery, to which it was made to serve as a foundation. The netting of every country, almost, has a distinctive character of its own: that of Persia is known by its fine silken meshes and rich gold and silver embroidery; that of Italy, by the varied size and shape of its meshes and a resemblance in the style of its embroidery to the Punto tagliato; whilst the netting of France, known by the name of Cluny guipure, consists of a groundwork of fine meshes with stiff close designs embroidered upon it, outlined in coa.r.s.e glazed thread.

Netting, which divides itself under two headings, netting proper, or plain netting and net embroidery, has never yet gone out of fashion and places are still to be found where the entire population is engaged in this industry.

PLAIN NETTING AND THE IMPLEMENTS USED IN NETTING (figs. 611, 612, 613).--Plain netting consists of loops, secured and rendered independent of one another by knots. For forming and tightening these loops and knots the following implements are necessary; in the first place, a netting needle; these are generally made of steel, split and flattened at both ends, with a hole bored through them below the fork at the one end, in which the thread, fig. 611, is secured, before it is wound on lengthwise between the forks. They are numbered as to size like knitting needles. There are netting needles likewise of bone, ivory, wood and tortoise-sh.e.l.l for twine and thick materials; these are without hole, fig. 612.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 611. NETTING NEEDLE OF STEEL.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 612. NETTING NEEDLE OF IVORY.]

The thread must be wound on very tightly, and not too much of it at a time, that the needle may slip easily through the loops. The mesh, or spool, fig. 613, whether of ivory, bone, steel or wood, should be smooth and round and of the same thickness throughout, so that the loops, made upon it, may be all of one size and easily slipped off.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 613. MESH OR SPOOL OF IVORY.]

For long loops a flat mesh is best, and in all cases, the needle and mesh should be selected with a view, both to the material employed, and the size of loop required.

In addition to these two implements, a cushion, weighted with lead will be required, to pin the foundation loop to, on which the first row of netting is worked.

MATERIALS SUITABLE FOR NETTING.--These, of course depend on the purpose of the netting: silk, twine, wool and cotton, can all be used and each possesses its advantages and disadvantages. Silk has the finest gloss but when it is strongly twisted it is very apt to knot, and when loosely twisted, does not make firm knots. It is difficult to get linen thread with a smooth uniform twist and moreover it soon frays in the working; wool is too elastic a fibre and is unsuitable for washing purposes, cotton remains therefore, in every respect the most desirable material, being both smooth and uniformly twisted; as qualities, more especially adapted for netting we may mention the following: Fil a pointer D.M.C, Cordonnet 6 fils D.M.C (crochet cotton), Fil a dentelle D.M.C (lace thread), and even Coton a tricoter D.M.C[A] (knitting cotton).

NETTING St.i.tCHES.--The loops are always the same--four-cornered whether they be square or oblong--and connected together, though secured and rendered independent of one another by knots. By different ways of pa.s.sing the thread over the mesh and connecting the loops together, the following st.i.tches are produced: 1 plain loop, 2 double loop, 3 oblong loop, 4 honeycomb loop, 5 twisted loop.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 614. FIRST POSITION OF THE HANDS.]

1 PLAIN LOOP. FIRST POSITION OF THE HANDS (fig. 614).--Every kind of netting requires a foundation loop, from 10 to 20 c/m. long, made either of Cordonnet 6 fils D.M.C Nos. 3 to 10, or Fil a pointer D.M.C No.

10[A], which is pinned to the cushion. Fasten the working thread to the foundation loop; then take the mesh in the left hand, holding it between the thumb and forefinger, with the other fingers extended beneath. Take the needle filled with thread in the right hand and pa.s.s the thread downwards over the mesh and over the second, third and fourth fingers, inside, carry it up behind the third finger and lay it to the left under the thumb by which it has to be held fast.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 615. SECOND POSITION OF THE HANDS.]

SECOND AND THIRD POSITION OF THE HANDS (figs. 615 and 616).--Carry the thread down behind the second, third, fourth and fifth fingers, and put the needle through the loop on the fingers and behind the mesh, through the foundation loop, thus forming a second loop, which you hold back with the little finger of the left hand. Then gradually drawing up the thread that runs from the mesh, let go the loop held down by the thumb; then by degrees let go also, the loop which lies over the second, third and fourth fingers, still holding the last loop fast with the little finger; finally you release this too and pull up the knot thus formed close to the mesh with the right hand. This completes the st.i.tch. The next st.i.tches are made in the same way; whether they are to serve for casting on or for a netted foundation. The mesh is drawn out at the end of each row, the work turned and the mesh held beneath the last row, in readiness for the next, in making which you pa.s.s your needle through each loop. These diamond-shaped loops form a diagonal net.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 616. THIRD POSITION OF THE HANDS.]

2 DOUBLE LOOP.--To make a double loop put the thread two or three times round the mesh.

3 OBLONG LOOP.--For oblong loops, the knots must be made a little distance from the mesh.

4 HONEYCOMB LOOP.--Make an oblong loop, pa.s.s the thread round the fingers, but not over the mesh as in plain netting, put the needle, not into the loop of the previous row, but between the loop, just made. The knot which is made in the same way as in plain netting, must be drawn close up to the mesh; the two threads of the loop should lie side by side on the mesh. The loops in honeycomb netting are six-sided.

5 TWISTED LOOPS.--Pa.s.s the thread, as in plain netting, over the mesh and fingers, but before letting the thread which is under the thumb go, pa.s.s the needle from right to left under the loop you are making and the thread, and only then draw up the knot.

Although in netting the loops cannot be formed in as many different ways as in knitting or crochet, they admit of a certain variety, as the following explanations will show.

PATTERNS PRODUCED IN NETTING BY USING MESHES OF DIFFERENT WIDTHS.--Plain netting can be varied by making one row of loops over a large mesh and one over a small one, or several rows over the large and several over the small, alternately, changing the meshes at regular intervals.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 617. PATTERNS PRODUCED IN NETTING BY INCREASING AND DECREASING.]

PATTERNS PRODUCED IN NETTING BY INCREASING AND DECREASING (fig.

617).--Patterns of this kind are made by netting the meshes together in regular sequence and taking up as many meshes as you have netted together, or vice versa. You may increase and decrease in the same rows, or at an interval of so many rows.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 618. LOOSE LOOPS IN Cl.u.s.tERS.]

Two sizes of thread should be used for this patterns. To show the relation they should bear to one another, we instance: Fil a pointer D.M.C No. 30 with Fil a dentelle D.M.C No. 50[A], or Coton a tricoter D.M.C Nos. 14 and 30[A], with Coton a tricoter D.M.C No. 50[A], or Coton a repriser D.M.C No. 25 with No. 100.[A]

Begin by 3 rows of plain netting with the finer thread over the small mesh, followed by one row with the coa.r.s.er thread over the large mesh; then, with the coa.r.s.e thread over the large mesh, one row, in which you net every two loops together and one row, with two loops in every one, so that the number of loops remains the same. These are followed by 3 rows of plain netting with the fine thread on the small mesh.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 619. LOOSE LOOPS IN Cl.u.s.tERS. WORKING DETAIL OF FIG.

618.]

LOOSE LOOPS IN Cl.u.s.tERS (figs. 618 and 619).--These cl.u.s.ters of loose loops are made in the following manner:

1st row--one loop, the knot of which must be a little distance from the mesh; put the thread over the mesh and the needle through the loop where the knot is; repeat this three or four times, making the loops all of the same length. Then unite all the loops with one knot, carrying the needle from right to left, round the loops, instead of putting it through the loop of the previous row.

2nd row--make one loop over each loop of the first row, leaving out the loops that form the cl.u.s.ter.

As may be gathered from the drawing, many different patterns can be worked upon the netting in this manner.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 620. NETTING COMPOSED OF PLAIN, DOUBLE AND OBLONG LOOPS.]

NETTING COMPOSED OF PLAIN, DOUBLE AND OBLONG LOOPS (fig.

620).--Netting composed of large and small loops is the kind generally used as a groundwork for embroidery. The loops of it are straight; diamond netting will serve the same purpose, but as it is less commonly used we have given the preference to the straight.

The whole first row consists of a double and a plain loop alternately; the second, entirely of oblong loops, which are made by pa.s.sing the thread only once over the mesh, and so, that in netting on the double loop, the knot is brought close to the needle, where as, in netting the plain loop, it hangs free; so that, as shown in fig. 620, all the loops of the 2nd row are of the same length. In the 3rd row, which is like the first, the plain loops should come between the small holes and the double ones between the large holes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 621. CIRCULAR NETTING COMPOSED OF LONG AND SHORT LOOPS.]

CIRCULAR NETTING COMPOSED OF LONG AND SHORT LOOPS (fig. 621).--Make thirty or thirty one loops over a large mesh with a very stout material, such as Fil a pointer D.M.C No. 20, or a double thread of Cordonnet 6 fils D.M.C No. 30, then draw up the thread on which the loops are strung, as tightly as possible, so as to form quite a small ring for the centre, and fasten off.

For the next row, also made in coa.r.s.e thread, fasten the thread on to a long loop and make one loop into each loop of the first row, over a small mesh. Use the same mesh for all the subsequent rows, which should be worked in a finer thread, such as Cordonnet 6 fils D.M.C No. 50 or 60.

If you want to avoid fastening on the thread afresh for each row, make a loop over the thumb.

MAKING LOOPS OVER THE THUMB.--Put the thread, as for a plain loop over the mesh and fingers, and put the needle through the loop, likewise as for a plain loop, but before tightening the knot, draw the mesh out of the loop just made and make it exactly as long as the loop above.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 622. CIRCULAR NETTING FORMED BY INCREASES.]

CIRCULAR NETTING FORMED BY INCREASES (fig. 622).--Make 10 loops on the foundation loop, close the ring, then go on, making a row with one knot in the first loop and two knots in the second, until the net attains the right circ.u.mference; in the subsequent rows, increase by one loop, that is to say, make two knots in each of the previous increases.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 623. SQUARE OF NETTING. BEGUN.]

SQUARE OF NETTING (figs. 623 and 624).--To make squares of netting with straight loops, begin by making two loops or three knots. Make two knots in each of the following rows so that each row is increased by one loop. Continue to increase until you have one loop more than the square should number.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 624. SQUARE OF NETTING. COMPLETED.]