Crochet One of Evdokia's Edgings

This edging, taken from one of the swatches Evdokia created for the Chinese textile company, is worked in lacet crochet, a technique popular in the 1920s and 1930s that is closely related to filet crochet. The edging is worked separately, then whipstitched to a pillowcase, sheet, or laundry bag as shown here. About 400 yards (366 m) of thread will produce a 40-inch (101.6-cm) length of edging.

Evdokia Sarecheff Yakovleff Gunn lived an amazing life. Born in Russia in 1902, she fled to Shanghai following the Russian Revolution in 1925 and gave birth to her daughter Helen three days after she arrived. She thrived in Shanghai, knitting and crocheting items for her family and for a Chinese textile company, until 1941 when the Japanese sent all foreigners to internment camps. Evdokia and Helen survived this ordeal and returned to Shanghai when the war was over in 1945. After that, Helen married an American and moved to the United States; Evdokia moved to England in 1949 and continued to knit and crochet until her death in 1973. For more on Evdokia, see "Evdokia Sarecheff Yakovleff Gunn: Making a Life Wherever She Could" by Nancy Nehring and Ellen Becker in the March/April 2004 issue of PieceWork. Nancy Nehring’s crocheted edging taken from one of Evdokia Gunn’s samples.
Photograph by Joe Coca.

Materials
DMC Cordonnet Special, 100% cotton thread, 284 yards (260 m)/ball, size 50, White, 2 balls
Crochet hook, size 11 or size needed to obtain gauge

Finished size: 40 x 3 1/2 inches (101.6 x 8.9 cm)

Gauge: 30 rows = 4 inches (10.2 cm)

Abbreviations
ch(s)—chain(s)
dc—double crochet
rep—repeat
sc—single crochet
sk—skip
sl—slip
st(s)—stitch(es)

Lacet:
Ch3, sk 2 sts, sc in next st, ch3, sk 2 sts, dc. Instructions

Note:
Ch3 at the beginning of an even-numbered row equals first dc. At the beginning of odd-numbered rows, the first three chs from the hook or a sl st, ch2 equals first dc.

Row 1: Ch47, sk 3 chs, 6 dc, 2 lacet, 18 dc, 1 lacet, 2 dc. Turn.
Row 2: Ch3 , 2 dc, ch5, dc in next dc, (ch1, sk 1 st, dc) 9 times, (ch5, dc in next dc) 2 times, 6 dc. Turn.
Row 3: Ch8, sk 3 chs, 6 dc, 4 lacet, 12 dc, 1 lacet, 2 dc. Turn.
Row 4: Ch3, 2 dc, ch5, dc in next dc, (ch1, sk 1 st, dc) 6 times, (ch5, dc in next dc) 4 times, 6 dc. Turn.
Row 5: Ch8, sk 3 chs, 6 dc, 3 lacet, 6 dc, 2 lacet, 6 dc, 1 lacet, 2 dc. Turn.
Row 6: Ch3, 2 dc, ch5, dc in next dc, (ch1, sk 1 st, dc) 3 times, (ch5, dc in next dc) 2 times, 6 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 3 times, 6 dc. Turn.
Row 7: Ch8, sk 3 chs, 6 dc, 3 lacet, 18 dc, 3 lacet, 2 dc. Turn.
Row 8: Ch3, 2 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 3 times, 18 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 3 times, 6 dc. Turn.
Row 9: Sk first dc, sl st in next 6 dc, ch2, 6 dc, 3 lacet, 6 dc, 2 lacet, (ch1, sk 1 st, dc) 3 times, 1 lacet, 2 dc. Turn.
Row 10: Ch3, 2 dc, ch5, dc in next dc, 6 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 2 times, 6 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 3 times, 6 dc. Turn.
Row 11: Sk first dc, sl st in next 6 dc, ch2, 6 dc, 4 lacet, (ch1, sk 1 st, dc) 6 times, 1 lacet, 2 dc. Turn.
Row 12: Ch3, 2 dc, ch5, dc in next dc, 12 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 4 times, 6 dc. Turn.
Row 13: Sk first dc, sl st in next 6 dc, ch2, 6 dc, 2 lacet, (ch1, sk 1 st, dc) 9 times, 1 lacet, 2 dc. Turn.
Row 14: Ch3, 2 dc, ch5, dc in next dc, 18 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 2 times, 6 dc. Turn.
Row 15:Ch8, sk 3 chs, 6 dc, 2 lacet, (ch1, sk 1 st, dc) 12 times, 1 lacet, 2 dc. Turn.
Row 16: Ch3, 2 dc, ch5, dc in next dc, 24 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 2 times, 6 dc. Turn.
Row 17: Ch8, sk 3 chs, 6 dc, 2 lacet, (ch1, sk 1 st, dc) 12 times, 2 lacet, 2 dc. Turn.
Row 18: Ch3, 2 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 2 times, 24 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 2 times, 6 dc. Turn.
Row 19: Ch8, sk 3 chs, 6 dc, 3 lacet, (ch1, sk 1 st, dc) 9 times, 3 lacet, 2 dc. Turn.
Row 20: Ch3, 2 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 3 times, 18 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 3 times, 6 dc. Turn.
Row 21:Sk first dc, sl st in next 6 dc, ch2, 6 dc, 2 lacet, (ch1, sk 1 st, dc) 6 times, 4 lacet, 2 dc. Turn.
Row 22: Ch3, 2 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 4 times, 12 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 2 times, 6 dc. Turn.
Row 23: Sk first dc, sl st in next 6 dc, ch2, 6 dc, 1 lacet, (ch1, sk 1 st, dc) 3 times, 2 lacet, 6 dc, 2 lacet, 2 dc. Turn.
Row 24: Ch3, 2 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 2 times, 6 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 2 times, 6 dc, ch5, dc in next dc, 6 dc. Turn.
Row 25: Sk first dc, sl st in next 6 dc, ch2, 6 dc, 2 lacet, 18 dc, 1 lacet, 2 dc. Turn.
Row 26: Ch3, 2 dc, ch5, dc in next dc, 18 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 2 times, 6 dc. Turn.
Row 27: Ch8, sk 3 chs, 6 dc, 1 lacet, 6 dc, 2 lacet, 6 dc, 2 lacet, 2 dc. Turn.
Row 28: Ch3, 2 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 2 times, 6 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 2 times, (ch1, sk 1 st, dc) 3 times, ch5, dc in next dc, 6 dc. Turn.
Row 29: Ch8, sk 3 chs, 6 dc, 2 lacet, 12 dc, 4 lacet, 2 dc. Turn.
Row 30:Ch3, 2 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 4 times, (ch1, sk 1 st, dc) 6 times, (ch5, dc in next dc) 2 times, 6 dc. Turn.
Row 31:Ch8, sk 3 chs, 6 dc, 3 lacet, 18 dc, 3 lacet, 2 dc. Turn.
Row 32: Ch3, 2 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 3 times, (ch1, sk 1 st, dc) 9 times, (ch5, dc in next dc) 3 times, 6 dc. Turn.
Row 33: Sk first dc, sl st in next 6 dc, ch2, 6 dc, 2 lacet, 24 dc, 2 lacet, 2 dc. Turn.
Row 34: Ch3, 2 dc, (ch5, dc in next dc) 2 times, (ch1, sk 1 st, dc) 12 times, (ch5, dc in next dc) 2 times, 6 dc. Turn.
Row 35: Sk first dc, sl st in next 6 dc, ch2, 6 dc, 2 lacet, 24 dc, lacet, 2 dc. Turn.
Row 36:Ch3, 2 dc, ch5, dc in next dc, (ch1, sk 1 st, dc) 12 times, (ch5, dc in next dc) 2 times, 6 dcs. Turn.
Row 37: Sk first dc, sl st in next 6 dc, ch2, 6 dc, 2 lacet, 18 dc, 1 lacet, 2 dc. Turn. Rep rows 2 ­ 37 seven more times, ending last rep with Row 36. End. Whipstitch first to last row. Sew on desired item.

—Nancy Nehring

Note: This chart my be photocopied for personal use. Evdokia's Edging Chart  (654 KB)

ABOUT THE DESIGNER. Nancy Nehring of Sunnyvale, California, writes about historical needlework. Her Irish-crochet doll dress won first place in the crochet/tatting category in _PieceWork's Needleworker of the Year Award 2003._