Irish Crochet
Irish crochet is a style of crochet that is an adaptation of Venetian lace. Developed by the resident nuns in an Ursuline Convent School in Cork County in the 18th century, it literally saved a famished nation during the Great Potato Famine that struck Ireland between 1846 and 1849.
Because of its stunning and breathtaking beauty, Irish Crochet is considered the “Queen of all lace”.
What makes this style of crochet stand out?
The working style is different. Most projects use three different kinds of yarn.
- The working thread itself is of moderate thickness.
- A coarse and thicker thread is used as padding. The stitches are worked over the padding thread. This gives the motifs a three-dimensional effect.
- A very fine thread and hook are used for the mesh background that gives the project a delicate lacy effect.
Choosing the right crochet hook is left to the discretion of the worker.
The lace is worked in 4 stages -
- Patterns are first transferred to fabric.
- The second stage is working the sprigs or motifs and tacking the finished motifs to the fabric.
- The next - the most challenging stage is, working the mesh background around the motifs.
- The final stage is carefully removing the lace from the fabric, crocheting the edging and laundering the lace.
Another interesting thing about Irish crochet is no two workers can turn out a motif that looks exactly the same – even if they use the same pattern and the same materials. This is because the individual working tension greatly affects the way a motif looks. How tight you pull the padding cord also determines the final outcome of the motifs.Then again, because of stitch tension, you may find a petal getting frilly or saucer shaped.It is then left to the discretion of the worker to increase or decrease a few stitches to get the right effect. The curve of the petal or the sprig can be altered by pulling the padding thread to satisfy the worker’s artistic leanings. This is reason why while some workers turn out ordinary motifs, others turn out pieces of art.
Irish Crochet, there is room for flexibility; there is room for creation of exquisite and stunning beauty.
Here is a link to some wonderful Irish Crochet Books you can download free of cost.
http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/completelist.htm
Tags: crochet, crochet pattern, crocheting, irish crochet, irish crochet books