lynxlace.com   Water Lily - a Free Bobbin Lace Pattern    by Ilske Thomsen of Hamburg   © Ilske Thomsen 2010

  Site Map     Harz    Bobbin Lace Introduction       Bobbinlace New Revival     

         Click on the thumbnail to get the full size picture.  I suggest printing it so you can look at the photo as you make the ground.  It will be easier to follow.

Ilske Thomsen of Hamburg has again given us one of her original bobbin lace designs to share with lacemakers of the world.  Much of her recent work has involved the use of unusual grounds and multiple layers.  It is a new way of emphasizing the transparency of lace.

This is a pattern in a more or less contemporary style in two parts. The bigger one is a half circle totally in einfacher Gittergrund in English perhaps "simple mesh ground" surrounded by a plaits. The ground is worked in Dieppe stitch.
I used mercerized cotton 20/2  from Fa. Zürcher in Zwitzerland (so I am not sure if you could find this sort of thread) in three colors

yellow    102
light green 171
green        112
and Madeira Marlitt in similar colors.
The three colors aren't different in their color-worth so they mix in a nice way. I take one pair yellow, one pair light green, one pair green, and again one pair yellow and so forth.

This ground is a bit unusual to work so I draw the pricking in a way as a working scheme/diagram.
We start at A with the two plaits and work first from left to right bringing in some pairs with the cotton. At the first arrow showing to left we start with the ground till the plait going from top to down. where the arrow 2 shows from left to right we work to the right side back and so on.

The second part are three curved line worked in stem/ ten stitch (rib stitch) with three pairs of the cotton and one pair DMC Marlitt. Not all six threads only three of them. So we get at the end three curved lines in the three colors yellow, light green and green. In my opinion it is better to work the three lines together and find a means to connect them during working. If we work each of them separately it is difficult to get them in order.

When both parts are ready lay the curved lines carefully on the half circle and put it into a frame and on your wall.
Good luck,  Ilske

  This is the 3 ribs for waterlily.  It will require legal length paper (in the U.S. this is 14 inches long).  You should setup your printer with .5 inch margins all around (or 1 cm margins).

  This is the pricking of the ground portion.  The image at left is a thumbnail.  When you click on it, it will drop into your computer, showing at full size, and you can then save it as a file and print it at leisure.  This will print on letter size paper.

Also Harz, on this website, is hers.  And these also, are hers:  http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/91823605klvXEA

Contact me at lhalley@bytemeusa.com                        Contact Ilske Thomsen at     ilske-peter-thomsen@t-online.de