Knitting -- I mean, netting

So if you're following my Write it Like a Fairy Tale thread, you know that I'm a fan of the original Regency novels as well as Georgette Heyer. And there's some needlework that Austen refers to several times as netting -- netting a purse, netting a shawl.

What is it? Basically, you make a mesh like extremely fine fishing nets, and then you embroider over it.

https://pieceworkmagazine.com/what-is-netting/

https://pieceworkmagazine.com/nineteenth-century-embroidery-net/

Netting is a medieval art; ladies made hairnets to control all that long hair and used fillets and chin bands to anchor the net to their heads. It is also a craft used to make hammocks and fishing nets.

The only place I could find tools was a vendor I last bought crochet materials from, Lacis. They have the tools separately and in kits. They also have net with 9 or 16 holes per inch. But since they have the tools you can make your own custom mesh size. How?

The tools come with a heavy paper insert with basic instructions. Here's a PDF with more, including the information that the basic knot is called a sheet bend, sheet being the nautical term for the ropes used to control sails on tall ships and fishing craft alike. 

http://www.wedcraft.com/KnottyHeadwear9.pdf

This classic booklet has the discouraging advice to find a boy who knows how to make fishing nets and get him to make your mesh. It does, however, show several stitches the way classic books do; you have to study the pictures a long time to understand them.

https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/books/archive_005.pdf

This is probably your best resource, being lengthy and detailed. Page 145 gives detailed instructions for a classic embroidery technique called pointe de toile.

https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/books/c_lace.pdf

This is a classic resource but the instructions are sketchy because it comes from a time when you usually knew somebody who could overlook your work and set you straight. You will have to study the engravings a long time to figure out what is really going on.

https://archive.org/details/completeencyclop0000ther/page/420/mode/1up?view=theater

Judy Brittain's book, from which I learned to knit, crochet and quilt, has a section on the basics but not the embroidery. It does, however, show you how to make a net carrier for groceries, and also a hammock.

https://archive.org/details/bantamstepbystep00brit/page/191/mode/1up?view=theater

This book shows a couple of embroidery stitches. They can be used to work something like filet crochet as shown in this book.

https://archive.org/details/goodhousekeepin00guil/page/403/mode/1up?view=theater

This book has more embroidery stitches.

https://archive.org/details/readersdigestcom00colt/page/424/mode/1up?view=theater

The setup is the tricky part. You load your netting needle. You secure your foundation loop so you have even tension. And you use your net gauge, which can be a popsicle stick or knitting needle, to make sure all the openings in your mesh are the same size. The Lacis kit comes with quarter-inch gauges.

I found a tutorial on Youtube but the camera work was terrible and the instructions not too great. If you know of a good one, let us all know in the comments.

When I get some more knitting projects out of the way, I'll try this. I have some old crochet thread lying around. Probably from the last time I bought from Lacis.