Perhaps the most challenging project in this book, this circular wrap (or throw) has a hex-mesh fill, a directional linear mesh around the large orchid motif, and small bobbles, called nupps, above the orchids. The center of this piece was inspired by various leaf and flower motifs used in several doilies from the 1959 German publication Elsa Kunststrickheft and a doily in an undated pamphlet (#7008) from the Mez thread company. No attribution is given to the designer in either out-of-print publication. I suspect that all of the pieces that inspired me were designed by Herbert Niebling, but I can’t be sure.
About 60" (152.5 cm) in diameter, blocked; about 58" (147.5 cm) in diameter, after relaxing.
Laceweight (#0 Lace).
Shown here: Colourmart 2/28 wool/silk (50% fine wool, 50% silk; 2,300 yd [2,103 m]/150 g): Oatmeal, 1 cone.
U.S. size 2 (2.75 mm): 16", 24", 32", and 40" (40, 60, 80, and 100 cm) circular (cir) and set of 5 double-pointed (dpn).
Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.
Stitch markers (m; see Notes); tapestry needle; size 4 (2 mm) steel crochet hook for bind-off; tapestry needle; six flexible blocking wires; T-pins.
10 sts and 18 rnds = 2" (5 cm) according to the hex-mesh motif in Ghost Orchid Chart D, worked in rnds and relaxed after blocking.
With dpn, CO 6 sts. Divide sts evenly on 3 dpn so that there are 2 sts on each needle. Join for working in rnds, being careful not to twist sts. Place a marker to indicate beg of rnd and an additional marker between each pattern rep.
Changing to progressively longer cir needles as necessary, work Rnds 1–36 of Ghost Orchid Chart A—204 sts.
Work Rnds 37–82 of Ghost Orchid Chart B—438 sts.
Work Rnds 83–116 of Ghost Orchid Chart C—384 sts.
Work Rnds 117–174 of Ghost Orchid Chart D—762 sts.
Work Rnds 175–199 of Ghost Orchid Chart E, placing additional markers to indicate each patt rep and ending 2 sts before beg-of-rnd marker on Rnds 175 and 199—1,440 sts.
With crochet hook, use the gathered crochet method (see Techniques) to BO as foll: [gather 4, chain 8, gather 4, chain 8, gather 3, chain 8, gather 4, chain 8] 96 times, then join last chain st to the first BO st with a slip st.
Cut yarn, leaving a 9" (23 cm) tail. Pull through rem loop to secure.
Weave in loose ends but do not trim tails.
Soak in cool water for at least 30 minutes. Roll in a towel to remove excess water.
Weave a separate flexible blocking wire through the crochet BO loops on each of the six edges, excluding the six crochet loops on each of the six points. Place on flat padded surface, stretch to finished measurements, and pin out the wires (the wires will form gently curved lines) as well as each of six loops at each point to form a hexagon.
Allow to air-dry thoroughly before removing wires and pins.
Trim tails on woven-in ends.
