Hi everyone, and for Carol Herewith some random thoughts of mine about hitches on bobbins, and why with some bobbins the thread whiffles off annoyingly.
If the thread is the right size to the rest of the project, I don't have problems with the heads of standard machine turned bobbins, nor most of the hand-turned styles, either continental or midlands. Of the latter, my Malcolm Fielding bobbins tend to release thread and hitches too readily unless I use them on a flat pillow. I think this is because his bobbins are highly polished - however the thread behaves if I'm using v. fine thread, cotton 80/2 or finer, on a domed pillow. I have discovered that the thread will not behave if the bobbin is too heavy or too light for the thread. You've got to find the balance. When I use linen, it can misbehave but if I dab a bit of moisture (in small letters, wet one finger on tip of tongue, touch tip of thread to shank of bobbin and begin winding) it stays wound, unless the ambient humidity is low - linen likes a bit of moisture in the air. When using linen thread, I make the hitch on the shank, if the bobbin is double-headed, rather than the head. For fine cotton threads except honiton, I definitely use a double-headed bobbin and place the hitch on the head. Honiton is just fine with hitch on shank, occasionally I lose the hitch in the thread (c'est la vie). It is all a matter of physics - the angle that the thread leaves the bobbin via the hitch; weight of the bobbin vs. grist of thread vs. slope from pinpoint; the amount of spin applied - knowingly or not - to the bobbins during work; shape of pillow and position of lacemaker - and position of pillow and shape of lacemaker :p - correct amount of friction that keeps hitch in place - relevant to angle, bobbin surface, method of making the hitch. I had a thought that the one part of the loop of a double hitch could rest around the shank, and the second part on the neck part of the head of the bobbin. One thing I know for sure - fighting with one's materials is not conducive to "happy lacemaking." Good luck to the lacemaker with belligerent bobbins ;) -- bye for now Bev in Sooke, BC (on Vancouver Island, west coast of Canada) Cdn. floral bobbins www.woodhavenbobbins.com - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
