Netting is a handicraft, so ancient that it would be difficult to trace it to its origin, or determine the date of its invention. There is evidence to show that the making of nets for fishing and game catching was as familiar to the earlier races of mankind as it is to us.

Practised in the first instance for the wants of life, it by degrees developed into an art, in conjunction with embroidery, to which it was made to serve as a foundation. The netting of every country, almost, has a distinctive character of its own: that of Persia is known by its fine silken meshes and rich gold and silver embroidery; that of Italy, by the varied size and shape of its meshes and a resemblance in the style of its embroidery to the Punto tagliato; whilst the netting of France, known by the name of Cluny guipure, consists of a groundwork of fine meshes with stiff close designs embroidered upon it, outlined in coarse glazed thread.

Netting, which divides itself under two headings, netting proper, or plain netting and net embroidery, has never yet gone out of fashion and places are still to be found where the entire population is engaged in this industry.

Plain netting and the implements used in netting (figs. 611, 612, 613).—Plain netting consists of loops, secured and rendered independent of one another by knots. For forming and tightening these loops and knots the following implements are necessary; in the first place, a netting needle; these are generally made of steel, split and flattened at both ends, with a hole bored through them below the fork at the one end, in which the thread, fig. 611, is secured, before it is wound on lengthwise between the forks. They are numbered as to size like knitting needles. There are netting needles likewise of bone, ivory, wood and tortoise-shell for twine and thick materials; these are without hole, fig. 612.

The thread must be wound on very tightly, and not too much of it at a time, that the needle may slip easily through the loops. The mesh, or spool, fig. 613, whether of ivory, bone, steel or wood, should be smooth and round and of the same thickness throughout, so that the loops, made upon it, may be all of one size and easily slipped off.

For long loops a flat mesh is best, and in all cases, the needle and mesh should be selected with a view, both to the material employed, and the size of loop required.

In addition to these two implements, a cushion, weighted with lead will be required, to pin the foundation loop to, on which the first row of netting is worked.

Materials suitable for netting.—These, of course depend on the purpose of the netting: silk, twine, wool and cotton, can all be used and each possesses its advantages and disadvantages. Silk has the finest gloss but when it is strongly twisted it is very apt to knot, and when loosely twisted, does not make firm knots. It is difficult to get linen thread with a smooth uniform twist and moreover it soon frays in the working; wool is too elastic a fibre and is unsuitable for washing purposes, cotton remains therefore, in every respect the most desirable material, being both smooth and uniformly twisted; as qualities, more especially adapted for netting we may mention the following: Fil À pointer D.M.C, Cordonnet 6 fils D.M.C (crochet cotton), Fil À dentelle D.M.C (lace thread), and even Coton À tricoter D.M.C[A] (knitting cotton).

Netting stitches.—The loops are always the same—four-cornered whether they be square or oblong—and connected together, though secured and rendered independent of one another by knots. By different ways of passing the thread over the mesh and connecting the loops together, the following stitches are produced: 1º plain loop, 2º double loop, 3º oblong loop, 4º honeycomb loop, 5º twisted loop.

1º Plain loop. First position of the hands (fig. 614).—Every kind of netting requires a foundation loop, from 10 to 20 c/m. long, made either of Cordonnet 6 fils D.M.C Nos. 3 to 10, or Fil À pointer D.M.C No. 10[A], which is pinned to the cushion. Fasten the working thread to the foundation loop; then take the mesh in the left hand, holding it between the thumb and forefinger, with the other fingers extended beneath. Take the needle filled with thread in the right hand and pass the thread downwards over the mesh and over the second, third and fourth fingers, inside, carry it up behind the third finger and lay it to the left under the thumb by which it has to be held fast.

Second and third position of the hands (figs. 615 and 616).—Carry the thread down behind the second, third, fourth and fifth fingers, and put the needle through the loop on the fingers and behind the mesh, through the foundation loop, thus forming a second loop, which you hold back with the little finger of the left hand. Then gradually drawing up the thread that runs from the mesh, let go the loop held down by the thumb; then by degrees let go also, the loop which lies over the second, third and fourth fingers, still holding the last loop fast with the little finger; finally you release this too and pull up the knot thus formed close to the mesh with the right hand. This completes the stitch. The next stitches are made in the same way; whether they are to serve for casting on or for a netted foundation. The mesh is drawn out at the end of each row, the work turned and the mesh held beneath the last row, in readiness for the next, in making which you pass your needle through each loop. These diamond-shaped loops form a diagonal net.

2º Double loop.—To make a double loop put the thread two or three times round the mesh.

3º Oblong loop.—For oblong loops, the knots must be made a little distance from the mesh.

4º Honeycomb loop.—Make an oblong loop, pass the thread round the fingers, but not over the mesh as in plain netting, put the needle, not into the loop of the previous row, but between the loop, just made. The knot which is made in the same way as in plain netting, must be drawn close up to the mesh; the two threads of the loop should lie side by side on the mesh. The loops in honeycomb netting are six-sided.

5º Twisted loops.—Pass the thread, as in plain netting, over the mesh and fingers, but before letting the thread which is under the thumb go, pass the needle from right to left under the loop you are making and the thread, and only then draw up the knot.

Although in netting the loops cannot be formed in as many different ways as in knitting or crochet, they admit of a certain variety, as the following explanations will show.

Patterns produced in netting by using meshes of different widths.—Plain netting can be varied by making one row of loops over a large mesh and one over a small one, or several rows over the large and several over the small, alternately, changing the meshes at regular intervals.

Patterns produced in netting by increasing and decreasing (fig. 617).—Patterns of this kind are made by netting the meshes together in regular sequence and taking up as many meshes as you have netted together, or vice versa. You may increase and decrease in the same rows, or at an interval of so many rows.

Two sizes of thread should be used for this patterns. To show the relation they should bear to one another, we instance: Fil À pointer D.M.C No. 30 with Fil À dentelle D.M.C No. 50[A], or Coton À tricoter D.M.C Nos. 14 and 30[A], with Coton À tricoter D.M.C No. 50[A], or Coton À repriser D.M.C No. 25 with No. 100.[A]

Begin by 3 rows of plain netting with the finer thread over the small mesh, followed by one row with the coarser thread over the large mesh; then, with the coarse thread over the large mesh, one row, in which you net every two loops together and one row, with two loops in every one, so that the number of loops remains the same. These are followed by 3 rows of plain netting with the fine thread on the small mesh.

Loose loops in clusters (figs. 618 and 619).—These clusters of loose loops are made in the following manner:

1st row—one loop, the knot of which must be a little distance from the mesh; put the thread over the mesh and the needle through the loop where the knot is; repeat this three or four times, making the loops all of the same length. Then unite all the loops with one knot, carrying the needle from right to left, round the loops, instead of putting it through the loop of the previous row.

2nd row—make one loop over each loop of the first row, leaving out the loops that form the cluster.

As may be gathered from the drawing, many different patterns can be worked upon the netting in this manner.

Netting composed of plain, double and oblong loops (fig. 620).—Netting composed of large and small loops is the kind generally used as a groundwork for embroidery. The loops of it are straight; diamond netting will serve the same purpose, but as it is less commonly used we have given the preference to the straight.

The whole first row consists of a double and a plain loop alternately; the second, entirely of oblong loops, which are made by passing the thread only once over the mesh, and so, that in netting on the double loop, the knot is brought close to the needle, where as, in netting the plain loop, it hangs free; so that, as shown in fig. 620, all the loops of the 2nd row are of the same length. In the 3rd row, which is like the first, the plain loops should come between the small holes and the double ones between the large holes.

Circular netting composed of long and short loops (fig. 621).—Make thirty or thirty one loops over a large mesh with a very stout material, such as Fil À pointer D.M.C No. 20, or a double thread of Cordonnet 6 fils D.M.C No. 30, then draw up the thread on which the loops are strung, as tightly as possible, so as to form quite a small ring for the centre, and fasten off.

For the next row, also made in coarse thread, fasten the thread on to a long loop and make one loop into each loop of the first row, over a small mesh. Use the same mesh for all the subsequent rows, which should be worked in a finer thread, such as Cordonnet 6 fils D.M.C No. 50 or 60.

If you want to avoid fastening on the thread afresh for each row, make a loop over the thumb.

Making loops over the thumb.—Put the thread, as for a plain loop over the mesh and fingers, and put the needle through the loop, likewise as for a plain loop, but before tightening the knot, draw the mesh out of the loop just made and make it exactly as long as the loop above.

Circular netting formed by increases (fig. 622).—Make 10 loops on the foundation loop, close the ring, then go on, making a row with one knot in the first loop and two knots in the second, until the net attains the right circumference; in the subsequent rows, increase by one loop, that is to say, make two knots in each of the previous increases.

Square of netting (figs. 623 and 624).—To make squares of netting with straight loops, begin by making two loops or three knots. Make two knots in each of the following rows so that each row is increased by one loop. Continue to increase until you have one loop more than the square should number.

Following this row with the extra stitch, make a row without either increase or intake and begin the intakes in the next row, joining the two last loops of each row together by a knot. Finish the two last loops over the thumb.

Square of netting begun from the middle (figs. 625 and 626).—Instead of beginning a square from the corner, in the manner just described, it may be begun from the middle.

Cast on the required number of loops, make an intake in each row, by omitting to take up the last loop of a row. In coming back, your first knot will thus be made over the last loop but one of the previous row, fig. 625. To complete the square, fasten the thread on again, to the end of the thread of the last row, then make a similar to it, and repeat the same rows you made at the beginning (see fig. 626).

Stripes of straight netting (figs. 627 and 628).—These can be begun and finished in two ways. The simplest way, more especially when they are to be embroidered afterwards, is to cast on the necessary number of loops, to decrease on one side by dropping a loop, fig. 627, or by joining two loops together with a knot, fig. 628, and to increase on the other side, by making two knots over one loop.

Great care must be taken not to change the order of the intakes and increases, as any mistake of the kind would break the lines of squares, and interfere with the subsequent embroidery, unless there happened to be more loops in the stripe than stitches in the pattern, in which case the superfluous loops might be cut away when the embroidery is finished.

Straight netting with a scalloped edge (fig. 629).—The second way of making stripes of straight netting is to begin by a square. After making two loops on the foundation loop, make rows with increases, until you have the required number of loops. Then make an increase in every row to the left and leave the last loop empty in every row to the right. Continuing the increases on the left, you net 4 rows, without increasing or decreasing on the right, whilst in the next 4, you again leave the outside loop empty.

Square frame of netting (fig. 630).—Handkerchief, counterpane and chair-back borders can be netted in one piece, leaving an empty square in the centre. After casting on the loops as for an ordinary square of netting, letter a, increase them to double the number required for the border. Thus, for example, if the border is to consist of 3 squares, you make 6 loops, then leave 3 loops empty on the left and continue to work to the right and decrease to the left, up to the dotted line from c to c. After this you begin to decrease on the right and increase on the left, up to the dotted line from e to e.

Leaving the right side of the net, you now fasten on the thread at c, where the 3 empty loops are, and here you make your increases on the right side and your intakes on the left, till you come to the corner, from whence you decrease on the right and increase on the left, up to letter g. Stop on the left side and then work from left to right, passing over the row that is marked e. The fourth corner, letter b, is worked like any other piece of straight netting, with an intake in each row, until there are only two loops left.

Diagonal netting with crossed loops (figs. 631 and 632). To work this simple and effective pattern, begin by making a stripe of plain netting, 14 loops in width, for the middle. When it is long enough for your purpose, take up all the loops on one side on a strong thread; fasten the work to the cushion again and work 3 rows, along the other edge in the following manner.

1st row—long loops, to be made by the thread being passed thrice over the mesh.

2nd row—here, 3 loops are so made as to cross each other, that is, you begin by putting your netting-needle at first into the 3rd loop, counting from left to right, then into the 1st, and lastly into the middle one of the three, so that the right loop leans to the left and the left one to the right.

3rd row—one plain loop in each of the loops of the previous row. You now, draw out the thread, run in on the other side, and run it in through the loops last made, in order to make 3 rows again, as above described, on the bottom side.

When this is done, you begin the scallops, composed of 12 knots or 11 loops, or 14 loops and 15 knots = net 5 rows, leaving the outside loops empty, fig. 632, stop on the left and proceed with: 6 knots or 5 plain loops, 2 or 3 long loops with 3 overs, 3 plain loops = turn the work = 3 plain loops, 3 knots = turn the work = 2 loops with 3 overs, 3 knots = turn the work = 2 plain loops, 2 knots = turn the work = cross 2 or 3 loops, according to the number you crossed in the middle, then carry the working thread to the middle of the long loops, and connect them by 2 knots = pass the needle under the knot of the last long loop, then, on the right side net: 3 plain loops = turn the work = 3 plain loops, 3 knots = turn the work = 2 plain loops, 2 knots = turn the work and continue the rows of plain netting until you have only 2 loops left.

To reach the next scallop, pass the netting-needle through each hole of the net and round each thread.

Finish off the scallops with a row of plain netting, made with a coarser thread than the foundation.

These netted edgings are generally made in unbleached cotton, because the patterns afterwards embroidered upon them in coarse, white knitting or darning cotton, show best upon it. The thread for this purpose should be used double, and the pattern worked in darning stitches, made over 8 squares of the netting; the 8th knot is then encircled by a loop and the thread carried down over 8 squares and a loop again made round the 8th knot. After making 4 rows of stitches on the netting, cut 3 bars between the rows of white stitches.

The row of openwork produced in this way has a very good effect and greatly improves the look of the lace.

Netted fringe (fig. 633).—Plain netting, pretty as it is, looks rather poor, unless ornamented with embroidery of some kind. The double netting, illustrated in fig. 633, will prove a welcome novelty. The footing is worked in crochet, with braid, secured on both sides by chain stitches.

Into every fourth of these chain stitches, net one loop, missing the 3 between. At the end of the row, turn the work and make the knot in the middle of the 3 chain stitches, so that the 2 loops of netting cross each other.

In the second, or rather the third row, the knots are again made first into the front loops, into those of the first row that is; in the fourth row, into those of the second row.

When the stripe is sufficiently wide, finish it off with tassels, made of Soutache D.M.C No. 3. Instead of tying up the lengths of braid with a thread, twisted round them and fastened off with a stitch, make 2 looped knots round them with an end of the braid, where the neck of the tassel should come.

Embroidered netting.—Embroidered netting, also known as Filet Guipure, Cluny Guipure, and Richelieu Guipure, is a netted ground, with patterns of one kind or another, worked upon it in a variety of stitches.

Implements required for embroidered netting.—Besides scissors, needles and thread, a light steel frame is the only thing required, and this renders embroidered netting very popular.

The needles should be long, and blunt; those called saddlers needles are the best.

Wire frame for embroidered netting (fig. 634).—The frame on which the net is stretched should be made of strong iron wire, that will not bend in the using. In shape, it may be square or oblong, according to whether squares or edgings are to be made upon it, but the sides must be straight, so that the net can be evenly stretched.

This wire frame must be covered, first with wadding or tow, as shown in fig. 634, and then with silk ribbon, which must be wound tightly round it, and more particularly at the corners, very closely, so that it may be quite firm and not twist about when the netting is sewn in. The ends of the ribbon should be secured by two or three stitches.

Mounting the netting on the frame (fig. 635).—When the netting is exactly the size of the inside of the frame, it need only be secured to it with overcasting stitches, set very closely at the corners.

Mounting the netting on the frame with an auxiliary tape (fig. 636).—When the netting, is smaller, the space between it and the frame, must be filled up with strong very evenly woven, linen tape, sewn on all round the netting.

The tape must be very tightly held in the sewing, so that it even forms little gathers all round; this will help you to stretch the netting in mounting it without injuring it, and is especially necessary when the netting is not quite evenly made. Fig. 636 shows how the tape is sewn on, the fold that has to be made at the corners, and the way to fix the netting into the frame.

Long stripes or large pieces of work, can be mounted on waxcloth, but we cannot recommend shortening the preparatory work in this manner, as the squares of netting are never so regular as when they are made in a frame.

Materials for embroidered netting.—Thick threads with a strong twist are the best for darned, or embroidered netting, such as Cordonnet 6 fils D.M.C[A] (crochet cotton), or Fil À dentelle D.M.C[A] (lace thread).

There are however certain old kinds of embroidered netting made in soft loose silk, for imitating which it is best to use, Coton À repriser D.M.C[A] that being quite the best substitute for the original material.

The stitches used for embroidered netting.—These are so multifarious and admit of so many different combinations, that not a few of them seeing that be quite new to our readers, willsome we have never yet come across in any book on the subject that has come under our notice.

Ordinary darning stitch (fig. 637).—The simplest stitch of all for covering a netted ground is the ordinary darning stitch; drawing the thread, that is to say, in and out of the number of squares, prescribed by the pattern, and backwards and forwards as many times as is necessary to fill them up.

The number of stitches depends, to a certain extent, on the material employed; with Coton À broder D.M.C for example, you will have to make more stitches than with one of the coarser numbers of Coton À repriser D.M.C.

This is the stitch generally used for reproducing a cross stitch pattern on a netted ground and is especially to be recommended for covering large surfaces, curtains, counterpanes and so forth, as it is quickly done and shows up the pattern well.

Linen stitch (figs. 638 and 639).—This is the stitch most often met with in the old embroideries, it being the one the solid parts of the leaves and flowers, and the borders are generally worked in.

Fasten on the thread to a knot of the netting and carry it twice to and fro, over and under the threads of the netting, so that at the end of the row, every second thread passes under and over the thread of the netting, as it is carried upwards again.

This constitutes the first layer of threads, the second completes the linen stitch and is made in the same way, only across the first, alternately taking up and missing a thread as is done, in darning. The thread may also be carried both ways over the threads of the squares. In this case you must draw an uneven number of threads through the squares, otherwise the crossing of the threads will be irregular in the last square.

Linen stitch. Formation of the corners (fig. 640).—When linen stitch is used for the border of a pattern, and a corner has to be formed, you begin by carrying the threads over a given number of squares. This first layer, especially in the case of long stripes, must be kept very slack, and to ensure the threads being all of the same length, lay a fine mesh or a thick knitting needle at one end and stretch the threads over it. After carrying the second layer across a few squares, take away the mesh or needle. The threads of the first layer become gradually shorter, from the passage of the cross threads in and out between them, and end by being just long enough to prevent the last embroidered squares from being too tightly stretched.

On reaching the corner, you cross the threads of the next row, as shown in fig. 640. The first threads of the second side form the foundation of the corner square; from the second corner square you pass to the third; from the third to the fourth, carrying your thread alternately over and under the threads that were stretched for the first corner.

Loop stitch (point d'esprit) (figs. 641 and 642).—This is a light open stitch, chiefly used for making a less transparent foundation than plain netting. Fasten the thread to the middle of one bar of the netting, then make a loose loop to the middle of the top bar of the same square, fig. 641, by carrying the thread, from left to right, over one vertical and one horizontal bar of the net and inserting the needle downwards from above under the bar and in front of the working thread. For the second row back, also represented in fig. 641, you draw the needle through, underneath the bar above the loop stitch and make the loop upwards from below; in doing this the working thread must lie to the left, in front of the needle. Fig. 642 shows how to join the rows and pass the needle through the stitches of the preceding row.

Star composed of loose threads (figs. 643, 644, 645).—This star covers 16 squares of netting. Fasten the thread to the middle knot of the 16 squares, then carry it diagonally over 4 squares, three times from left to right under a knot of the foundation and three times from right to left. In this way, the bottom rays of the star are formed. For the stitches that complete the figure, you start from the middle and following the direction of the little arrow in the illustration, you cover the netting with 3 horizontal and 3 vertical threads, carried over 4 squares. When you have laid the vertical threads, slip the needle 4 or 5 times round in a circle, under the diagonal and over the straight threads, but always over the bars of the netting. This completes the star, as it is represented in fig. 645. Care must be taken to make the stitches lie quite flat side by side, and not one on the top of the other.

Darning stitch (point de reprise) (figs. 646 and 647).—Little flowers and leaves are generally executed in this stitch; the first course of the thread is shown in fig. 646. Leaves can be made with one, two or three veins. Carry the needle, invariably from the middle, first to the right and then to the left, under the threads of the foundation and push the stitches close together, as they are made, with the point of your needle. This you will be able to do most easily by holding the work so as to make the stitches towards you.

For a leaf with only one division or vein, like the left leaf in fig. 646, merely run the needle through the middle of the threads, whereas for a leaf with two or three veins, you must run it, over and under, either one, or two threads (see the right leaf in fig. 646).

In working leaves of this kind in darning stitch, you must draw your stitches at the top and bottom of the leaf rather tighter than in the middle, so as to give them the proper shape. If you wish to make them very slender at the bottom, you can finish them off with a few overcasting stitches.

Fig. 647 represents two leaves completed, one with one vein and the other, with two.

Pointed scallops in darning stitch (fig. 648).—The simplest way to work these scallops is to carry a thread, as shown in the illustration, to and fro over the square, from the knot in one corner to the middle of the bar above and downwards to the opposite knot, round which the thread is carried and passed upwards again to the middle. As the scallop must always be begun from the top, you will have, two foundation threads on one side and three on the other. Here likewise, you must push the threads as closely together as possible with the needle.

Pointed scallops in buttonhole stitch (fig. 649).—Another quite as pretty and easy way of working pointed scallops on a netted foundation is by making two buttonhole stitches before crossing to the opposite side. As shown in the foregoing illustration, you begin by stretching single or double foundation threads across; then beginning at the point, you make, alternately right and left, 2 buttonhole stitches over the foundation threads, so that the working thread is only carried across to the opposite side after every second stitch.

Veined pointed scallops (fig. 650).—A third way of making pointed scallops is by first stretching a thread to and fro across the middle of the square, after which you slip the needle from left to right under the middle thread, and underneath the left bar from above. Then you carry the needle, from right to left, over the foundation thread and under the right bar and so on. The one thread must be drawn tightly round the other, in order that the stitches may form close and evenly shaped veins, like small cords, on the wrong side of the scallop. There must be enough stitches to completely cover the foundation thread that crosses the middle of the square.