This scarf is my introduction to Orenburg lace from Russia. The techniques used are a combination of a traditional Orenburg lace border with an updated center motif designed by Dorothy Reade, a fiber artist, spinner, knitter, designer, and teacher who lived in Oregon.

When Dorothy Reade received a gift of a moth-eaten Orenburg lace shawl that had been knitted around 1850 or 1860, she began trying to figure out how to make one. She carefully charted its pattern stitches with pencil on graph paper, spun yarn to match the antique, and knitted a reproduction. As usual, she couldn’t resist her own creativity and she made some minor changes to the patterning.

If you want to get the Vermont-made yarn I used for the Orenburg in Oregon wrap, you can order it from us now! It will come with a printed copy of the pattern, too.