Need help ending Pivot (Curl) in chrysanthemum

[Christina King]

I just finished my pivot/curl but am puzzled about  when to work with the last pair again - the one that I wrapped the thread over and under. Also when do I pull out the pivot pin.

The first (inside) of the petal was cloth and after the pivot I will do half stitch up the outside.

Thank you,

Christina

[Lorelei Halley Administrator]

Christina

I am not an expert on bloomwork, but I did take one workshop (I took good notes), and I haveother lesson material as well.  I looked through all of that.  This is my understanding:

When you have used all the pins on the outer edge of the scroll, and you are approaching the first place where you have pins on both sides -- that is where you use the magic thread to help you sew the weaver to the loop where you hung the scroll on.  After that sewing, the threads that the weaver simply passed over and under should then be worked as normal.  As soon as one complete row is finished you can pull out the pin and gently ease the pairs to smoothness.

I'm not sure I explained this well enough.  I do hope another member can say something about the subject.

[Kitty Mason]

Hi Christina

If I understand you correctly you are at the top of the first petal and have done a pivot to turn the work to come down the second side of the petal.  I think it should be done as follows:

- work the pivot till you reach the point where you have pins on both sides and leave the workers on the side away from the pivot.

- you will sew the pair you have been swinging round (the pivot pair) rather than the workers.  In this way the pivot pair will form a ring which holds all the loops from round the pin safely.

- the sewing should be into either the last edge stitch, if it was done on the pivot pin before starting the swinging, or into the pivot pair just before the pivot - this is where you might have placed a magic thread.

- after the sewing knot the pair once to hold it in place and it now becomes the innermost passive pair. 

I have a copy of an excellent book on Chrysanthemum lace by a Cathleen Belleville of Los Altos CA.  It was originally printed in 1999 and my copy is a reprint done in 2002 - there may have been others since, I do not know.  The ISBN number is 0-9721491-0-4.  She gives her contac email as [e-mail] but of course this could have changed in the intervening years.

Good luck.

Kitty

[Lorelei Halley Administrator]

That is a much better explanation.