Silkewerk - Lace vinee of 16 bowys

Lace vinee of 16 bowys

This braid is a double-sized lace vinee of 8 bowis [T56]. Rather than the expected color pattern of two lace vinees side-by-side, this two-worker version chooses to double the number of loops in each color and then make one big vinee across all 16 fingers.

Some of the text is missing in the sources, but it seemed logical to use the one-worker Lace vinee to fill in the gaps.

Because it forms along a diagonal fell, switching directions pushes the braid itself into a zig-zag shape - more so if it's heavily tightened. The related lace endente [T17] avoids this by building the braid in interlocking triangle sections.

The direction that the loops are given the half-twist matters. It also determines which side of the braid faces upward during the braiding. The manuscripts are vague on this point, but it's clear that the twist was intentionally controlled.

For the sake of consistency, all my directions will form a braid with the more attractive side facing down.

Seat Your Fellow on Your right side.

Take sixteen loops in three colors, and place them on the following fingers:
Color 1: A B C D of Your Fellow's left and right hands
Color 2: A B C D of Your right hand
Color 3: A B C D of Your left hand

Work with your left hands:
A takes through B C D left, and D C B right, the loop of A right unreversed.
High the right loops.
Move the loop from D left onto D right unreversed.
Low the left loops.

[Hook B in the back A loop and pull it over and around the front A loop and onto B - allowing the loop brought up from D to travel through A as previously instructed. This lowering method is explained in Tollemache's Lace Piole [T11].]

Twist all your loops, giving a 180° turn to each loop:
Left hands - Twist the top of each loop downward (Clockwise)
Right hands - Twist the bottom of each loop upward (Clockwise)

Connect Your braid with Your Fellow's:

Exchange A loops on your inner hands:
Your Fellow's A loop passes through Your A loop unreversed.

[Use your other hand to make this work.]

Continue working with the left hands until You and Your Fellow have switched starting colors.

Work with your right hands:
A takes through B C D right, and D C B left, the loop of A left unreversed.
High the left loops.
Move the loop from D right onto D left unreversed.
Low the right loops.

Twist all your loops, giving a 180° turn to each loop:
Left hands - Twist the bottom of each loop upward (Counter-clockwise)
Right hands - Twist the top of each loop downward (Counter-clockwise)

Connect Your braid with Your Fellow's:

Exchange A loops on your inner hands:
Your Fellow's A loop passes through Your A loop unreversed.

[Use your other hand to make this work.]

Continue working with the right hands until You and Your Fellow have your own starting colors back again.

Repeat from the beginning.

[If you imagine that your two hands are really one hand with eight fingers arranged A B C D D C B A you can see that this braid takes the far left loop through all the others to the far right, and then shifts everything one to the left. All the loops are twisted identically (counter-clockwise), even though it might feel that each hand is different.]

Source: Tollemache 57

Lace vinee of 16 bowys.
Take 8 bows of color and set them on thy fellows hands and 4 of another and set them on thy right and 4 [Griffith has 2 here, I see a 4] of another and set them on thy left [a large section of text was left out here. It most likely follows the moves in T56] and after every taking shall change the over bows of your next hands then reverse all and begin again until 4 bows of one color be on the right hand of thy fellow then shall ye work with your right hands as ye did with your left hands until the 4 bows become again the left hand and so work again as ye did first.

Source: Serene 40

The same Lace of sixteen bowes.
Set four bows of one color upon A B C D left and all another upon A B C D right, and in the self manner upon thy fellows hands and then shall you both work with your left hands till that the four bows of one color become again upon A B C D right of thy fellow, but you must afore every reversing change your overbows of your next hands, and then shall you work both with your right hands as you did before with the left hands till the four bows of one color become again upon A B C D left and then begin again.

[This placement is a guess because the preceding lace, "The same lace compound" [S39], uses 7 loops. Something is missing - most likely the single-worker Lace vinee. Enough of the instructions refer back to the missing braid that the exact working cannot be certain, although the same text is missing in Tollemache's Lace vinee of 16 [T57], so that might be a clue. The color distribution is different, unless the fellow is intended to have all one color.]