Broomstick lace baby dress with collar - new design

Here is a new design that was on my drawing board and now in a tangible form. Hope you like it. The highlights are the collar that has also been designed with broomstick lace.
I hope to release the pattern for this also. I am thinking of maybe naming the process..."Broomstick made easy"..series, adding tips and helps too. I need more time, as I hope to get the bonnet also to be moved from my drawing board ..so the next one you can expect is the bonnet.

Each of these series, has been patterned after a lot of iterations. Having designed many such, I like this series the best.
The one pattern that is available now is HERE  Do try this when you have some free time.

Broomstick lace remains my favorite stitch.

Thanks so much dear friend for visiting my blog. And until we meet again, wishing you happy crocheting moments, and God Bless.

Shanti

Broomstick Lace Baby gift set- Pattern coming up soon

So here I am designing a new broomstick baby set, comprising of blanket, bootees, Bonnet, Mittens and Cardigan...making progress step by step. All are new patterns, please check again for them, after I have completed the full set.

These are the bootees...

these are the mittens..

this is a partial view of the blanket..yet to take some full view photos..

Bye now and God Bless you

Lots of love

Shanti

Broomstick Lace Neck Tie - Free pattern

There are a wide variety of scarves. But a neck tie certainly is  sophisticated and draws  that quantum of focus to the face, framing it with the goodness of the necktie, whilst it offers  many  more benefits. It adds interest to what it defines.
I have designed this neck tie, in a way that
1.  The tie has a neat fall,  that secures the tie in place.
2. The tie gives a  reversible option to  be worn either with the pink  highlights around the neck or the variegated portion around the neck.
3. The tie has two different stitches incorporated into it, that gives it a natural break, for the tie portion and the neck part.  The three floral highlights  also bring definition to the face. Varying the choice of colors will give you a wide range of choice in effects.
4. The tie  can double up as a trouser/ skirt. or jean sash,  around the hip.
5. The design is open light and airy and certainly does not add discomfort or weight  to the wearer.

I designed this two days ago and just completed it. I have written my   pattern  for you. Request you to link back to my blog with your creations that you have been inspired to make,  even if you have made  any variations of what I have made. Please also leave a comment for me. It is so good to know how you have been inspired,

Name of the Project: 
Floral burst Necktie

Designed and made by:  
Dr Shanti Mary Samuel (your's truly)

Materials needed
One skein soft yarn solid color, one skein variegated yarn with a complementary shade. I have used Bernat Baby coordinates yarn.

Knitting needle for casting on the broomstick lace, size 5.50 mm crochet hook. Tapestry needle for weaving in ends.

Skill Level
Intermediate

Getting the flowers ready. Make a slip knot with the variegated yarn. Start with 5 chains and join with a slip stitch. Work * three chains to count as one dc work two triple crochet into the ring,   chain 3. Slip stitch inside the ring. (These three chains and two triple crochet stitches make one petal).  Continue from * to make 5 petals all together. Fasten off and weave in ends. Make three such flowers ..you will find that in one flower I have added 6 petals ..you could do that too, although the petals tend to curl up when they are too dense.
Keep the flowers aside and start working on the scarf now.

The scarf is basically made with rows of broomstick crochet. You will need basic knowledge of how to make broomstick lace.

As you will notice one portion of the scarf is with  pink yarn whilst the other part is made  with a variegated yarn. The pink  serves as the larger portion that goes around the neck, and the variegated portion is the tie and the focal piece. Please also  notice the change in design.

 Start with a slip knot using pink  yarn.
Chain 20.
Chain two to count as first dc.
Turn work
dc into the third chain from hook
dc into the rest of the 18 chains. (from now on you will not turn the work)

Without turning work draw loops through all the 20 chains, one by one,  and loop them, casting them  onto a knitting needle or wooden dowel. You will have 20 loops. ** Now gather the first five loops and insert hook into this 5 group of loops, , work five sc into them. One broomstick lace cluster is thus  formed. Make four more clusters. 

   

You will have a total of 20 scs now. Now draw through all 20 chains, one by one again without turning the work,  casting them again on to the knitting needle. Work from ** for 21 more rows and until  you have a total of 22 rows.
Now turn work and dc across the entire row, and fasten off.

 Make a slip knot with the variegated yarn. With the right side facing join you yarn and draw through and cast on 20 loops on to the knitting needle. (from now on you will not turn work) Without turning work, make one turning chain and then work one sc into each loop (no gathering of 5 loops together, each loop is worked on independently) Draw through all 20 chains and repeat rows until you get a total of 8 rows.

Edging: chain 3, work two dc and one slip stitch into the next space. Continue until end. (make a similar edging on the dc row that you started with).

Sew on the three flowers on the last row of dcs where the new rows of broomstick lace start.
Fasten off and weave in ends.

Wear your neck tie by wrapping the longer portion around the neck and the draw the other end through and flip it over with the tie portion shorter and in front. Well......... the options to wear it are as per your choice!!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures.
Until we meet again
Lots of love
Shanti

***************************

Broomstick lace Autumn Scarf

Hello everyone,
Hope you are enjoying your visits to my blog. I love white and the spiritual significance of white is central to my interest in the color. Seasons change as quick as the drop of a curtain, and  I love the vibrant colors of the fall ..the change from green to fiery orange is a feast for the eyes. Capturing this vibrancy and weaving them into this scarf has been my enjoyable journey... Made this with my favorite weave..the broomstick lace also called the Peacock eye lace.

Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.

Until we meet again, with lots of love
Shanti

What a simple clothes hanger can do: Hairpin Lace

Over the years I have used various kinds of hairpin looms, and till date my best liked is the U shaped prong also called the hairpin staple.  This one you see here was self made by me!!  with a clothes hanger. I found some  disadvantages as well as advantages.
Firstly let me explain why I made this.
I wanted something light weight and which did not involve too much of changing of rods and clasps, and which I could just grasp easily. And whilst flipping the loom to and fro weight does matter to me.
So how did I make this?
I simply  took a clothes hanger that we get usually get from the dry cleaner's and snipped one end off, with equal fork length. Hairpin lace is also called fork lace. So in a way a fork has thus been created.

The advantage is the weight and ease of flipping the loom. I particularly like the way it fits snug into the palm of my left hand, with the v portion   pivoting to flip to and fro. The disadvantages are that it is very delicate and has to be held gently. Overall for a quick project it comes in handy. Below are some of the hairpin lace projects that one can do.

Made with Pumpkin from Red Heart.

Made with Bernat Baby Coordinates, lime green.

Made with Bernat Baby Coordinates.

This one was made with Autumn Red from Caron Simply Soft.

This one was made by Caron Simply Soft off white.

This one was made with Caron simply soft off white. Hairpin lace Shawls look awesome  to use with  saris too. You can find the pattern for the broomstick hairpin lace ensemble by clicking HERE. 

Until next time

Lots of love

Shanti

BBB- Bold and Beautiful Broomstick Lace

Hello again,
Here is a piece that I made yesterday. Broomstick lace lends itself to a great range of possible textures, feel, and mood depending on the type of yarn and the colors and so on..for a nugget on the origin of broomstick lace please click HERE

I love bangles especially those carved from wood. Enjoy the sheen and polish that they take.

Well, made this broomstick lace scarf with vibrant colors transforming into a pretty neck accent. Changing colors on a broomstick lace fabric is a challenge, and especially weaving the ends in. The more number of times I change colors the more ends to weave as each new color has a starting tail and a ending tail.

Tassels add charm to a scarf that a crocheted fringe cannot. They can be made long or short real thick or narrow. I added a fringe with all the colors that went into the scarf.

This is a close up ..

The final product off the hook..This scarf forms a lacy open and light fabric and one can slip it into the purse and transform am outfit for an evening dinner after work. The pop of color goes well with any sweater or dress, with or without  a dark or light color cardigan. Possibilities are endless. Can be used as a sash too.

Thanks for your visit and do leave a few words of comment that will encourage me. Lots of love until we meet next
Shanti

Origin of Broomstick Lace

A question for you: 

Have you ever wondered why this pretty lace, which I make so very often,  is called the broomstick lace? It is also known as the peacock eye lace or the jiffy lace.

In ancient days women after their work for the day sat down with their brooms and wrapped yarn around the handle of the broom and gathered the loops thus formed often in groups of five and crochet these groups together to form long flowing garments and pieces of accessories. 

The Broom is the most commonly used household tool, designed to handle a common task,  and this tool has been re engineered by ancient women, to create a new technique in weaving. Thus the  use of the broomstick has been an excellent innovation, born out of the necessity to use what was at hand and also with an attitude of being accountable for any little time that the women got at hand, and staying busy creating, and expanding activities rather than making break times into  a time waster.  This beautiful ancient art is what I use often in my creations integrating this technique with modern and contemporary colors and textures. The name broomstick lace was thus given to this lace made with the broom handle. 

Over time the broom handle was replaced by a large knitting needle, or wooden dowels to cast on the loops. The prop I used in this picture is a broom and a grass mat imported from India, purchased in a local grocery store. The sample I made is with lavender yarn. A pumpkin patch orange and green leaf scarf is in progress.

Broom handles are no longer used, and I have created this only to show/ enact  the origin of the name.

There are brooms that have a long handles wherein one can sweep without having to bend the body. But the Indian broom is shorter and requires one to hold the handle and bend over to make the sweeping motion, and the outcome  is as fine as using a swifter.  Broomstick lace is believed to have originated in Europe. A Scottish missionary brought crochet into India (in the 1800s)  and that is where I learnt crochet from, having learnt this stitch at age 12.  Hope this nugget of information was educative.

click HERE HERE HERE HERE HERE HERE and HERE for some of my broomstick lace work (There is more if you go into the search box and type broomstick lace) 

Until next time,

Lots of love

Shanti 

Neon Orange Broomstick Lace Scarf

Hello lovely people,
Thanks for your visit.
Here's a Neon Orange Broomstick Lace Scarf, with a wooden bangle that you see as a prop for the picture.

That is me with Caron Simply Soft yarn resting on my knees, with my favorite crochet fabric rug that I made on the night when Sandy Storm passed by. I have called him therefore as Sandy, and he is real tough and utilitarian and my favorite place to rest my feet on whilst designing.

To make this scarf follow the pattern by clicking HERE 
The only difference is that instead of working one row of sc, work an additional two rows of dc and then continue with the next row.

I would love to hear from you. Do leave a comment and also share pictures of your work. Wishing you a restful weekend and much love to you.

Shanti.

Sugar candy broomstick lace scarf

Hello friends,
I simply love making broomstick lace weave. That was the first stitch that I learnt in crochet. I have been making them ever since I was a twelve year old, and I do not therefore realize how difficult it is because I find it easy, and my fingers have got used to making this weave. Here's one I completed this morning. Loved the transition in colors and the texture that it created.

Hope you liked this collage. The following is a closeup. There are times when I use the tassels and times when I make a crochet fringe. Tassels produce their own rugged beauty.

A colorful scarf as this adds that quantum of pop of color that can go well with any solid color sweater or dress. The lacy texture is a feature that makes this a great neck accent without adding too much warmth and discomfort.  It is so very delicate and light you can just roll it up and slip it in your bag to wear for the evening dinner just after work and look different from your work dress.

Until next time signing off now with lots of love and wishes

Shanti. 

Pumpkin orange broomstick lace scarf

Here's another peacock eye or broomstick lace scarf I made. I used Caron yarn for this which has a pretty sheen to it and is absolutely soft.
Hope you like this one. It adds that punch of color and I enjoy seeing my daughter wear it and it so defines the attire with which it is worn.
Until next time lots of love to you
Shanti