Crochet Lace Technique: Cluny Six Petal Join

The cluny six petal join is a good sturdy way to link sometimes fragile motifs together. In traditional joins, where picots that touch are joined with a single stitch, those joins are the weakest part of the lace fabric. With cluny joins, the lace is stronger, has fewer large holes for things to get caught on, and gives a nice Irish flavor to any lace pattern you’re working with.

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This cluny join was made with five triple crochets per petal.

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Joining my third motif to the lace left a bigger hole to fill, so I created a large cluny join with six double-triple crochets per petal.

Cluny joins are made as the last row of the motif you want to join is being stitched.

This joining method is advanced level lace crochet, but it’s worth learning. As you see, it’s truly a beautiful joining method, and adds greatly to the integrity of the piece.

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Finishing Techniques: Blocking Lace

Blocking a piece of lace really changes the way it looks. This is my recent lace project, unfinished.

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Wash the lace in hot water. I wash my lace by hand, with a little liquid dish soap in running water for 2-3 minutes, then rinse in hot water. I wrap the wet lace in a clean dry towel and firmly squeeze the excess water from the lace. I never twist wet lace.

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Next I lay a clean pillowcase over my ironing board to protect the lace and keep it clean while it is drying. I pin the edges, gently stretching the lace as I go, until the entire thing is molded to the shape I want and stretched out to snowflake precision.

When the lace is dry, remove the pins. Voila! The lace will hold its shape without pins once it is dry.

Birds in Flight first lace