This doily
with the pointed edges was inspired by the ceiling of Henry VII’s Chapel in Westminster
Abbey. You can see from the detail above that it features the portcullis and
Tudor rose. These were both images used by Henry VII to validate his tenuous
claim to the English throne, which he had achieved by conquest.
The
portcullis was the emblem of his mother’s family, the Beauforts, through which
he was related to royalty, and the Tudor rose was a symbol of his union with
Elizabeth of York whose family had a stronger claim to the throne. The fleur de
lis emblem you can see in the photograph of the ceiling was part of the Elizabeth’s
coat of arms, but I think the crochet designer probably decided it was too difficult
to reproduce in crochet and did not include it.
The Church of
San Michele in Florence was the inspiration for another doily. In particular
the star design at the top of the elaborately carved marble tabernacle. In the
same way as before, the designer has not reproduced it exactly but has taken
inspiration from it to produce a six-sided doily reflecting the six-pointed
star.
The
instructions for the patterns suggest that the correct tension is important in
order to reproduce each design accurately and suggests altering the size of the
crochet hook if adjustments are required. Detailed instructions for laundering and
pinning out the crochet are also given. These include, accurately drawing the
shape of the finished doily in pencil on to plain paper, using a ruler and set
squares for squares and rectangles and compasses for circles. Then using
rustless pins to pin out the lace, making sure that all scallops are the same
size and all flower petals are pulled into the correct position. This all
sounds a lot of work, but these gothic designs do rely on the shapes being
accurate and reflecting the original architecture. In fact the leaflet does suggest
how to starch them if you wanted them to be slightly stiffened to retain their
shape.
