Cross Stitch Capelet by Claire Montgomerie

This design was inspired by the books collected by Rachel Kay Shuttleworth containing fragments of crochet swatches. Labelled by Shuttleworth as ‘poor designs,’ (which reinforced my attraction to them) these fragments were used as ‘recipe’ books by whole villages. I loved the idea of using an early crochet stitch compilation book to create my pattern. I selected a swatch with very noticeable and striking ribs and geometric lace using what looked like a crocheted ‘X’ stitch, which suggested shape and structure. Taking this as a starting point, I thought that the ribs would lend themselves perfectly to a cape or shawl worked in short rows from side to side, rather than working the piece bottom to top, to emphasise the structure of the stitch.