This pattern will only work with the right sized sticks. Please read Introduction to making a fan.
Pattern:
Bobbins: 31 pairs
Style: Torchon
Stitches:
half stitch
cloth stitch
cloth stitch and twist
twist pair
Details:
scallop headside (yellow)
cloth zigzag (red)
half stitch zigzag (blue)
Torchon ground (grey)
rose ground (green)
12 legged spider (pink)
twisted footside (grey)
making a fan
Description:
Follow the links above for explanation of how to work the different parts of the lace.
This is a large fan, so I used thick woad-dyed thread. The next problem is to find the rest of the fan. I managed to buy a very cheap, simple fan from a Chinese shop and removed the original piece of material. This gave me the correct dimensions, so I designed the fan to the same shape, and printed the pattern to the same size. See making a fan for information about the dimensions of a fan.
I designed the pattern so there were the same number of scallops as sticks. This made it easier to attach the sticks to the lace, as I knew which stick should go where!
The pattern is large, so I worked it in two parts so I could fit it on my cookie pillow. You can see a dark grey dotted line on the pattern in the middle which is where I started. I worked one half to the end, cut off the bobbins, and tied the threads off. Then I repositioned the pattern on the pillow and threaded more threads through the starting holes. I wound these on new bobbins, and worked the other half.
The pattern is quite elaborate as it is a large piece of lace and needs to be interesting, but it's made from standard designs. The zigzag changes from cloth stitch to half stitch with each change of direction. This gives an interesting 3D effect, and is easy to do - the last row in one stitch, the next in the other. The rose ground looks distorted, because the fan shape is a simple strip, but bent round in a curve. This means that the pinholes round the top edge are further apart from those round the inner edge.
The photos show the fan before fastening to the fan sticks, and after. The different colours are entirely due to the different lighting conditions and backgrounds. The final piece of lace was just stuck onto the sticks with glue - the transparent strong adhesive, but not Superglue. It seems to work well, but a little care is needed when folding up the fan.
Fan stick length from hinge to end - 7.5 inches. Width of lace (max) - 4.5 inches. Angle of arc - 120°. I must emphasise - you cannot buy a fan kit or existing fan, and expect this pattern to necessarily match. Fan patterns are very specific to the dimensions of the fan sticks.
© Jo Edkins 2017 - return to lace index