Trefoils next to picots and passives headside
A trefoil is used in Bucks Point. It is three beads (made of honeycomb) with surrounding gimps, which also make the trefoil stem. I suggest that you understand these before trying trefoils. See pattern 29.
trefoil pattern
The diagram below shows two trefoils, but only one has its working shown in detail. It avoids the complexities of the individual stitches by showing each pair of threads as a single line. Where one line crosses another inside the trefoil, you should work it as half stitch and twist, pin, half stitch and twist (or honeycomb). The gimps are shown in red and dark red. Click here to see how to work a gimp. Outside the gimp is not part of the trefoil, and so will be worked in whatever stitch is required - perhaps a headside or ground. This is marked in green.
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Working: First work all lace above the trefoil, down to but not including the gimps. This is marked in green, as it is outside the gimps. There are 4 pairs and 2 gimps to make the top leaf of the trefoil, but more pairs are used for the stem and other leaves, lower down. The gimps are coloured differently as their paths are quite complicated, and this sorts out their cross-overs.
Work the top leaf as a bead except for the gimps at the bottom (click here if you want to know about working a bead).
The right gimp (dark red) gets worked not only under the bead (and crosses the other gimp), but also round the top of the left leaf (which will be another bead). Do not twist the pairs afterwards as you normally do after a gimp. This is because the other gimp needs to be squashed next to this gimp in some places, and we do not want twists between them as they would hold the gimps apart.
Work some single outer stitches on the right down to (but not including) where the stem will be. Now work the other gimp (red) under the top leaf, and along the top of the stem.
Twist the pairs which will be making the left leaf (or bead). Work the bead down to, but not including the bottom gimp. There is no gimp of the right of this bead, so work the 'outer' stitch on the right as honeycomb.
Now for the stem. Work the stitches inside the stem. I suggest doing these stitches in half stitch as you want them to be as small as possible. Work the gimp (red) back to complete the stem. Now twist all pairs which have left the gimp, to hold the gimps in place. Work some outer stitches on the right, to have them in place for the bottom leaf.
Bring the other gimp (dark red) under the left leaf, and over the top of the bottom leaf (which you have not yet started). The red gimp should be over the top and on the other side. Remember - no twists between these gimps where they lie together, but twists after them both, to hold them together, and in place.
Work the bottom leaf as a bead, including the bottom gimps.
You will need to work some lace outside the gimps to get everything in place for the next trefoil. The second trefoil has swapped over the gimps, so the dark red gimp makes the stem, and the red gimp surrounds the left leaf.
© Jo Edkins 2016 - return to lace index
