Doily is Done

The doily is done, and has been for some time, though I only got around to sewing the ends in today. Here it is in Lizbeth size 20, Ecru and Autumn Spice. It measures 5.5 inches across:

On my previous post, Frivole asked if I was going to share the pattern, either on my blog or in my Etsy shop. Before her comment, I had been thinking about what to do with the pattern for several weeks. You see, I really want to make some changes to my pattern writing style by including things like materials used and written instructions to go along with the diagram.

I also recently found iBooks Author, a free App for Mac computers (unfortunately not available on the iPad). There are some nice looking templates with places to put photos, materials, a written pattern section, etc. I should still be able to use my Inkscape diagrams by loading them into iBooks Author as photo files.

I'd like to take my time playing around with these new ideas, without the pressure of adding the pattern to my shop. (Besides I don't know how much of this pattern I can actually call my own, as the third and most intricate round, though heavily modified, is essentially Frauberger's design).

As a result, I've decided to share my pattern notes here, so that those who are interested in trying out the doily can do so, and I can take all the time I want to play around with my pattern writing ideas. When I do get around to making polished written patterns, both this and the Frauberger bookmark will be available on my Free Patterns page.

For now, I've uploaded photos of my pattern notes. These are the actual notes that I use when I am formulating a design, so there are some erasure marks throughout. Please scroll down for a zoomed in photo as well:

There is a very slight issue with cupping of the thrown rings in Round 1, which is easily blocked with a dab of water. Another way to help with this issue is to make the picots joining the trefoils together just a bit bigger (instead of making them "very small picots" just make them "normal" picots, if that makes sense). All other joins will be very small picots.

Right clicking and opening these images in a new tab will make the numbers large enough to see. If anything is unclear, don't hesitate to ask!

For those who have already made the Frauberger bookmark posted to my blog in June, this doily will be no problem. Otherwise, please take a look at this post (click here) for more information about how the Frauberger edging is made. (Also note that the stitch counts in the bookmark are slightly different than those in Round 3 of the doily).

Lastly, for those who are interested in how many yards are used, I have made calculations with Lizbeth size 20 thread.

Unlike my typical diagrams, my rough notes are not color coded. For the yard calculations just remember that Shuttle 1 forms the rings while Shuttle 2 forms the chains/thrown rings. In Round 3 the shuttle work looks like this:

Round 3 can be done in other ways as well, just remember that the yards calculated are specifically for the above method.

And so I leave you with another long winded post (try as I might to make these things concise, I just cannot escape my detail oriented ways). I'm off to enjoy the Fall weather and then to continue tatting Frivole's latest snowflake. Until next time...