In message <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Ruth Budge <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes >Devon, In Australia, calico is a strongly-woven, off-white plain material -
> Not having done any reticella, I don't know why or >how you're going to use it. I'm assuming that someone may have already told Devon why she needs it, but at a guess (I haven't actually done any, but have books referring to its method of production) reticella requires a strong, evenweave fabric of either cotton, linen, or linen type as it is based on drawn thread work. So for the actual lace, I would have thought an evenweave embroidery linen would be used? Most of the calico I have seen is evenweave, but I would have thought drawing threads from it a little difficult! So, why would you need it? The logical thought is that the filling of reticella is a needlelace. The book I have (Ann Collier's "Gentle Art of Lacemaking") says that after you have drawn the threads, you draw your pattern onto brown paper or architects' linen and tack the fabric to the pattern.... now in other needlelace projects, you wouldn't be working on just the layer of architects' linen - in Carrickmacross, the late Sheila Regan taught us to use butter paper for the pattern and two layers of tissue paper beneath. In Branscombe point, the traditional method was several layers of brown paper, not just one - these days, as with other needlelace, you use architects' linen (or covering film over a paper pattern) supported by a pad of two or three layers of calico. In other words, the calico is to give you a pad to work on - something to hold - whilst you are working on the lace - it also means that your hands don't have to touch the actual fabric while you are working, so helping to keep it clean. So what you are looking for is something cheap and cheerful, which will serve its purpose as a support for your work but not break the bank when you may not re-use it afterwards - if you do more needlelace, then the holes from the cut away tacking threads/couching threads won't matter, but it won't be much use for anything else. You don't want to use your best linen for that, and you don't want any fluffy, highly coloured fabric which could put its fibres in your lace - but any firmly woven, white or ecru, inexpensive fabric offcuts of the right size for the project would probably do. -- Jane Partridge - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
