The Ocean Spray Cloth is the first design in “A Victorian Potpourri for Bed & Bath.”
This lace stitch comes from an 1867 pattern for a Shetland Shawl, forming the large centre square. In the original shawl, there is a wide 18 inch Shell or “Old Shale” stitch border around it. I made this cloth with 5mm needles and about 35g of worsted weight cotton. To make it you need to be able to cast on, cast off, knit, knit 2 together, knit 3 together, yarn over. I crocheted a single crochet and then crab stitch round on mine to finish the edge, but you can also leave it just as knitted, as seen in the middle photo.

It is easy to adjust the size of the cloth by adding or subtracting stitches in multiples of 6, then just repeating the pattern rows until it is either square or as long as you want. It would make a lovely lace scarf by repeating it until it is as long as you like--to make a cowl, just sew the cast off and cast on edges together!

There will be a variety of patterns in this series using different stitch patterns and re-worked designs, both crocheted and knitted: soapsaver bag, slippers, a cushion, lace curtains, and more!