Here is a simple filet crochet lace edging pattern for the ends of a fair linen, or even the hem of an alb. Usually a number 13 steel hook is used with Size 30 mercerized crochet cotton thread, but a smaller or larger size can be substituted depending on how fine or heavy you want the finished product to look.
The I.H.S. pattern is an old one, and comes from a lovely little book put out by The Order of Saint Veronica, which was a Roman Catholic society which aided poor mission chapels by collecting money for linens and creating Veronica Boxes filled with beautiful homemade linens and vestments which were shipped out to needy missions. Saint Monica is traditionally considered the Patroness of married women.
this is beautiful and i think it will work well for the altar in our congregation..
Yes it is very attractive- send us a photo when you get your fair linen finished !?Shelley
Gorgeous!
I think I got what I was looking for , beautiful lace
I have been working on our lace for a couple months now, but can’t figure out how to do the corners, any ideas?
I’ve made this for our altar (see comment #1). What kind of problem are you having?
I have made 35″ (one end) and I am about 2/3 way across the front which needs to be about 70″. My problem is the corners. I need a way to join the front to the sides so it will join evenly to the fabric and will hang like a table cloth (neatly on the corners). If I try to join them as they are to a 45 degree angle on the corner piece, the pattern won’t match. How did you do yours?
I just had the one front piece, sewn to a white cloth that lays on the top of the altar.
Personally, I would do three separate pieces, two sides and a front. That way I wouldn’t have to worry about the corners meeting up and all the designs could be centered in their own spaces.
Yes, I was thinking the same thing. Just worried that it may not look as nice but if it is starched and sewn on evenly it should look fine, you think?
How did you attach it to the linen? I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. I was thinking of using a small stitch to attach the each chain to the hemmed
fabric.
I would think that if the corners match up well, it should look fine. You want to have the front corners of the three pieces actually meet on the linen and not have any gaps there.
I attached my crochet to the linen after starching and blocking. I laid my linen out on two long tables, put the lace next to it centered, plugged myself into my ipod with six hours of knitting podcasts on, and started sewing. I caught each chain in the top of the crochet and just did a simple whip stitch. I figured that it will eventually need to be washed, and since it’s blocked stretched and the linen isn’t, the lace would have to be removed from the linen to be cleaned and blocked.
Thank you for your responses. I would love more help if anyone would email me. This is my first attempt for the church. The crochet part is easy, though it takes a really long time. I am worried about the linen selection and how to prepare everything. My email is: keymarmom3@cs.com if anyone can help with ideas.
I would like to print off this pattern. How can I do it? Thanks
Right click on the picture and select “save picture as”. Give it a name and save it. I like to save things to my desktop so I can find them. Once you get into the rhythm of the piece you can use the picture as your pattern.
Just finished my Altar lace and attached to linen. Looks really nice. If I knew how to attach pictures here I would. I had to make up a simple pattern for the corners so it would look right. All in all, it was well worth the time it took to complete. Thanks be to God!
Thanks for the email. If you would like to send your photo to Revdma@aol.com, I can put it up on the blog so we all can see it.
I would like to make this lace for an altar cloth for our church, St. Agnes in Milford, CT. I have some questions.
What size thread and hook do I use?
Do I double crochet the stitches? On the fourth line it says “7 tr”. What does that mean?
Thank you for your help.
Sincerely, Eda Moroney
I made this pattern several years ago. I use size 10 crochet thread and size 7 steel hook. I made it all in dc because I couldn’t figure out the “7 tr” either, since the rest is all dc.
Thank you Ann for your email regarding the instructions for the altar cloth. I also used double crochet. The altar cloth is beautiful. Our Pastor used it at Easter.
Eda
My friend and I made the altar cloths, one for the main altar and one for the side altar, with the IHS symbol and they are beautiful.. (Christmas 2010), We had a little trouble following the directions, but were able to follow the picture. I also made a veil for the tabernacle with the same edging. Thank you.
Sincerely, Eda Moroney