Rose+Ground

Rose ground is a pattern of stitches found in Torchon style lace. It is used as a background for other design elements. With just a pin between the stitches of step three and four it becomes a Flanders ground.

Method
Rose ground is demarked on a pricking by a diamond connecting (or contained by) four pins. A single rose takes four pairs.


 * 1) Take the two pairs on the left, and work in whole stitch (CTCT). Do the same to the right two pairs.
 * 2) Take the center two pairs, and work a Torchon Ground stitch (CT.CT). Tighten gently.
 * 3) Take the left two pairs and work Torchon Ground.
 * 4) Take the right two pairs and work Torchon Ground.
 * 5) Take the center two pairs and work Torchon Ground. Tighten gently.
 * 6) Take the left to pairs and work a whole stitch. Repeat with the right two pairs.

This completes one rose. Roses are most often worked in a checkerboard pattern. In this case, the right two pairs just worked will become the left two pairs of the next rose. If two pairs have just finished a rose and are immediately entering another, the initial CTCT can be skipped; it was done at the end of the last rose.

Design
When placing rose ground into a pattern, keep in mind that a corner cannot have a rose straight across it. Place roses either before or after the turn.