Hairpin Lace Jabot (An Ornamental Frill for us Modern Times People)

I decided to try my hand at Hairpin Lace. I wanted a small project to learn on, if it turned out that learning hairpin lace was harder than it looked. Turns out, hairpin lace is easy, easy, easy. Making the lace strips is repetitive and doesn't require a whole lot of attention. The real work begins when the strips are sewn together to create the garment or whatever project is being created.

The Jabot Collar No. 953 was the small project that was calling out to me. It wanted to be made.

What I discovered in my first attempts with hairpin lace:

Casting On 

There are a few different methods. Try them out, find out what works for you. I tried two methods for casting on.

• For the first method I started by making a slip knot and placing it on the left loom pin. I found the tutorial for this method Stitch Diva website. She has some terrific tutorials for making hairpin lace. I think this was a great way to start. I only had to worry about my hand movements. The slip knot was anchored to the loom pin so it wasn't going anywhere. As I went on, I found it to be a little more difficult to use when I added in the guide lines.

• The second cast on method I tried was from SheruKnittingcom on Youtube. She shows how to cast on using a slip knot that is worked into the loops without having to be anchored to the loom pin. I'm glad I waited to try this method. I was more comfortable with the hand movements and working around the guide lines when I started using this cast-on method.

Guidelines

Use guide lines. It looks like the guide lines help keep all of the loops going in the same direction. This will make life easier when stitching the strips together.

I tried several different types of yarn and thread to figure out what worked best for me. Crochet cotton was the clear winner. It had body so it wasn't flopping around when I turned the loom, and, it was small enough not to be in the way when I was making the lace.

Guideline for a short
hairpin lace segment.

Guideline secured to the bottom
of the loom

• 
  

I tied the guidelines to the top of the loom on the outside of the loom pins to keep the from moving around too much. I pulled the crochet cotton tight at the bottom of the loom, then wrapped it around the loom base. The wrapped cotton was secured by a rubber band and kept everything from moving around while I worked the lace. Once you get going with the lace, and move it down the loom, the lace keeps the guide lines from coming loose.

Close up of guideline anchored at bottom of loom.
I used a stitch marker to keep the guideline
to the left side of the loom.

The extra thread for the guide lines should be at the bottom to allow the work to drop below the loom if you have too many stitches for the loom to hold. You can remove the bottom pin holder and release the stitches to hang down from the loom to free up space in the working area of the loom.

Yarns

Yarn type really matters. This project is being made using a slubby, super-thin boucle type yarn. It is not ideal for learning how to work hairpin lace. The hairy texture of the yarn would periodically get stuck on the crochet hook, making it nearly impossible to remove the loops from the crochet hook. Did I mention that the crochet hook is microscopic? Maybe not truly microscopic, but it's a steel hook size 3. I needed really bright light to help me navigate my way around the loops and hook.

Determining working side of loom

Figuring out where you are when coming back to the loom. This might be obvious to you, but it took my 2 1/2 strips to figure it out. When you pick up the loom after a time away from it, it can be difficult to figure out where you are in the loop making process.

• If the yarn has been connected to the loop through the back, you are ready to flip the loom and start a new stitch.

• If the yarn is coming around the right loom leg, but is not attached to the loop in the middle, the stitch needs to be made on that side.

It sure sounds basic and easy to figure out, but there is new stuff to be learned as you are creating the first strips that it's easy to miss that little nugget.

More info

Look online for more tips and videos. There is so much information available online for hairpin lace. It is truly amazing. I didn't realize so many people did hairpin lace. Maybe it isn't a lost art.

The Hairpin Lace Creations Booklet can be found here.

Happy Crocheting! Happy Hairpinning!