THE WORKSHOP

Here’s a quick reminder…

Bruges Lace part 2

It’s easy to make a basic Bruges crochet tape. See last issue for a full demo (you can get a back issue from page 86) or follow our quick-start guide here. For this example, we used 4 trebles for each row and 6 chains for the chain loops, as follows: Ch10.

Row 1 Tr in 7th ch from hook and in each of next 3 ch to end, turn. [4 tr and ch-6 loop]

Row 2 Ch6, tr in each of 4 tr across.

[4 tr and ch-6 loop] Repeat Row 2 to required length. Work 20 rows in total to make the circle opposite, or 16 rows to make the arch overleaf. We used a DK yarn and 4mm hook – you may need more or fewer rows for a different yarn.

You can actually use any number of stitches you like for each row, and combine trebles with chains to create a lacier effect. You can also make your chain loops as long as you need and incorporate other elements such as picots. Be as creative as you like!

To make Bruges fabrics with interesting shapes, you’ll need to join the chain loops. To work a basic join, start a new chain loop by working half the number of chains as usual – in this example (see image below), our chain loops are six chains, so we worked three chains. Then slip stitch into the previous chain loop that you want to join to. Work the remaining half of the chain loop – ch3 in our example. Turn and work the stitches of the next tape row.