patterns and spindles

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Shawl language and the numerical coding, follow up on royal baby lace post.

Traditional Russian lace is number coded. It has being for a long time. To do not tire the auditorium with things like Fibonacci sequences (which are all over Orenburg lace) and other math I'll get straight to the simple point. Certain numbers in Russian lace are avoided. coding on numbers like 4 and 13 (even if it's in the Fibonacci sequence the number is often enough "jumped" in the Russian lace, as well as 2 is "jumped" , and it's multiplication 4 sequential holes or 4 sequential lined).

This is the shawl holes based chart. In here the coding on 4 that exists in the lace that a vendor that used folk patterns has adopted. 



From the shawl language and the numerical coding Russian lace avoids 13 and 4. In many folk cultures and not only in Russian they do not gift 4 flowers to someone unless it's the very particular occasion. Same goes with 13 flowers or 13 of something, that many are just not given, the number is "jumped". Russian culture is not the only one where 12+1 number is "jumped" and avoided in the items. Same with 4.
It's not about the fact that the lace will mot match properly. It matches because the core of the Fibonacci sequence in the lace is present the same way it is present in nature.

So this one is the "base" used to set the diagonal lace alignment.

and the diamond in there has 4 coding and it's cut to 4 as well. In Russian lace the base of 4 is not left to stay in the actual lace. this diamond has also embedded 13 inner number. and that number is traditionally broken by the lace to 5,3,5. does it mean that in old Russian wife tales 13 is not a bellowed number? I'd say yes. My family was avoiding coding any weaving or embroidery or lace to 4 and 13. The old ways of folk patterns were transferred from one to another, These days there are even dissertations written on the numerical coding of Russian weaving and embroidery.
It is applicable to Russian lace. The core of these folk patterns is the same. Materials differ.

Commercial lace when a designer adopts it to the machine at times looses the numerical coding of the lace. Or preserves only the part of it. Or leaves it to make a particular size/gauge item. That's what is a dividing point in hand made lace and the commercial lace.
This is number coded core of the lace.

when a commercial lace is made I've seeing not once when the lace is filled or overfilled one step and so the diamonds become cut. The shawl the royal baby was wrapped into has the overstep case and becomes coded on 4. The designed so it looks an playis with the particular wool and the gauge.
The traditional item was different and having the same core of the Fibonacci sequence the coding of the lace is very different. One avoids coding to 4 and 13, the other does not.





The diamond with the same numerical coding that is the core of this shawl in my diamonds study. The diamond in the wide border is offset to match the lace scented to the particular subset of the Fibonacci sequence. Same way it comes from nature.


1 comment:

  1. This is so fascinating. I am knitting my first Orenburg small shawl and love it more than any other knitted lace. I like when the space in the main body is divided into a large diamond and more subdivisions are made. I love the contrast between solid and lacy. If you look at it in terms of gradation from pure white (solid) to black designs(very open lace) and all the variations in between of traditional filler patterns like mouseprints etc. that give a background a "grain".
    I will try and join for a KAL on Ravelry.
    All the best to you and thank you for the invaluable information you give us.

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