It's been a few years but pretty sure he smoothed in the twisty cane first, then into the fin mold and then an aggressive twist at the marver to get the final pattern. That's not the only way to get to a merletto pattern, but that is the way he went about it that day.

@@GregFleischaker @Brad Smith Studios: Very cool. I took a murrini class with Davide at Corning in 2018. Gonzo was assisting then too. I've been trying to do merletto for a few years. The first piece I ever tried came out perfect and I haven't been able to duplicate it. I used regular cane, not a zanfirico or ballotini pattern. You say Davide went into the optic mold with the cane straight up & down on the piece -- not twisted first? Twisting then optic mold, then twisting or un-twisting is the only way I can figure out how to get the "loopy" patterns.

@@mnemotronic I really wish I had video taped the whole thing so that I had all of the steps down, to make sure I'm remembering correctly! But I'm pretty sure he simply smoothed out all the cane he picked up, without making sure it was straight, so maybe some twisting but just melting it all together and then into the mold before really really twisting it up. But to be honest, it was long enough ago and my camera work wasn't good enough for me to swear that he didn't go back into the mold for a second time, which would be cool, or how straight or twisted the canes were when he went in the first time. But he's pretty low key, not too fussy so I feel pretty good about a loose melting together of cane, good blow into the mold, and one serious twisting of the cane before blowing the vase out.

I think it's important to note the direction of the twist. When pulling the cane, he's spinning to the left (traditional venetian way I believe) then after he fin molds it, he twists again to the left

I don't monetize my videos, so I'm not sure why any ads would be showing up, not sure what to tell you, but I don't have anything to do with ads showing up on the video, sorry.