Santa sent me an order. He asked if I could get it finished in time. What kind of question is that? I’ll work around the clock if I have to, with eye drops beside me, stopping now and then to stretch my fingers when the little devils start to hurt.
I started making one just like my first one. I bought the pattern for it on Etsy.
What is Orimbus lace? My friend Google was absolutely no help whatsoever. I did work out that the crochet hook, in our terms, is 1.5 mm. For the first tablecloth, I bought yarn to suit the hook size.
I remember changing the pattern because otherwise it would have turned out enormous, definitely not 145 cm as stated in the pattern. At the time, I needed it to be 160 cm in diameter.
So this time I bought No. 70 cotton crochet thread and a 1 mm crochet hook.
Once I had finished the centre section of the pattern, I realised that my tablecloth was going to be much bigger than 145 cm in diameter. In the mesh section, I left out a total of eight rows, some in the middle and some towards the end. And my finished tablecloth measures 200 cm. I don’t know, I just don’t understand… how? What kind of miracle thread is this Orimbus lace thread?
Whatever. I have a firm plan to make this tablecloth once more, and next time I’ll use the same thread I used for the first one. So, a 1 mm crochet hook? I’m thinking, I’m thinking.
For now, though, I’ve had quite enough of crocheting huge tablecloths, because the final round alone took me three days. I crocheted at every spare moment. If the diameter is 200 cm, or 2 m, then the circumference is 628.32 cm, or 6.28 m. And the last row is nothing but stitches, with bobbles on top of them as well.
But never mind that. Crocheting is one thing. Afterwards…
I washed it and let it dry more or less. Then I had to find somewhere to spread the tablecloth out and block it into shape. I have a dog and two cats, so how was I supposed to put it on the floor?
There was no other choice. Naturally, I didn’t have a sheet that big, or any other piece of fabric large enough. I had to use two sheets and even add a towel in one corner.
So that is how I spread it out on the floor.
I pinned the centre in place. Then out came the tape measure and about 100 pins. The edge has points, so I measured 100 cm from the centre and pinned each point in place.
Every point measured from the centre and pinned. Next came the starching.
That was quite a job. I actually got hot doing it. Once all the points had been measured and pinned into place, it was time to start starching. I could, of course, have used potato starch, but I used a starching product instead. Almost an entire bottle went into the whole tablecloth. Because the thread is so fine, the starch needs to be a little stronger to get it into shape and keep it that way, but not too strong.
I started this job at about 4:30 p.m. and finished at 9:15 p.m. By finished, I mean I covered it with a sheet and left it to rest overnight.
I threaded two double-pointed knitting needles through the points along the edge and hung it up until Santa comes to collect it. If I fold it, it will get creases in it.