Introduction from The Lacy Knitting of Mary Schiffmann
By Nancy Nehring
I first met Mary Schiffmann in 1994 at a meeting of the Lacy Knitters, a group she cofounded to promote lace knitting by collecting, cataloging, and making available old knitted lace patterns. Mary had collected more than 500 patterns in her lifetime and these form the foundation of the Lacy Knitters pattern bank. At the time we met, Mary no longer knitted herself--her hands weren't steady enough--but she could still explain how to work a stitch, translate an unfamiliar term from an old pattern, and make us laugh with her wry sense of humor.
Mary's joy was collecting patterns. While she did make doilies, she rarely made garments. Often she knitted only a tiny swatch, maybe only an inch or two of an edging. Sometimes she didn't even do that; she just wrote out the pattern, never proofknitting it at all. Mary could "see" the knitting in her head.
The patterns that she did knit up, such as Heirloom Apron Lace for pillowcase edgings, went through many changes. Mary was constantly trying out new ideas, combining different stitches and modifying patterns. Knitting was not static to her.
When reminiscing about her pattern collecting, Mary commented that doilies have always been knitted from a written pattern. The patterns are too complicated to keep in one's head. But edging patterns, being simpler, have frequently been passed from person to person via a swatch. Well into this century, most knitters could copy the stitches, or a close approximation, from a tiny swatch. Somtimes these swatches were made into samplers similar to embroidery samplers or gathered into swatch books as crochet patterns often were.
Mary had a definite way of doing things. She invariably used Knit-Cro-Sheen and size 1 needles to knit her doilies. During the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, when Mary did much of her knitting, there was little demand for specialized lace-knitting supplies. But every dime store carried Knit-Cro-Sheen, so that's what she used for her doilies. And size 1 needles were used for gloves and baby clothing, both still frequently knitted at home and therefore available. Mary felt that finer crochet threads made a doily that was hard to iron out because it balled up when washed. For edgings, Mary usually used size 50-30 crochet thread on size 0 needles.
Many patterns in this book use thread and/or needle sizes different from Mary's standbys. Nowadays, more threads, with varying properties, are available. Cordonnet is tightly twisted and does not ball up even when sizes as small as 30 are used for doilies. And larger needles relative to the size of the thread have opened up several of the patterns, giving a more lacy look.
Mary did not block her knitting but ironed it out. Household laces were used to protect fine wood furniture from dents and scratches or to trim linens so ironing them out was a lot less time consuming than blocking. Today knitted laces are displayed for their intricate beauty alone, so blocking, which emphasizes the pattern and symmetry, is more common. And Mary, more than any other person I know, appreciated that beauty.
Mary very much wanted to see her collection of patterns in print. She felt like a lone crusader in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s as she watched interest in lace knitting die. To her, a book would preserve patterns in a form usable to others, and Mary helped select a number of the patterns presented here. One of my few regrets in knowing Mary is that she did not get to see this book published.
Mary was constantly on the lookout for unusual knitting. She was always willing to look at any knitted piece she hadn't seen before, but much of what she saw she dismissed as "standard". Standard patterns to her were ones that combined the easy, the common, or the frequently published. In an attempt to convey Mary's appreciation of knitted lace, I've omitted all standard patterns and basic how-to-knit instructions here. Although I've included a few easy but unusual patterns, most require intermediate to advanced knitting skills.
Mary died April 28, 1996. Her last words to her knitting friends where, "I spent my life looking for patterns. Don't you quit."
Reprinted with Permission
Interweave Press, Publisher, Loveland, CO
www.interweave.com