In message <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Miriam <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes > I'm still trying to >figure out how to handle the tulle in a frame . I don't feel like >buying the whole big frames
My claim to fame as being the only UK member of the Canadian Lacemaker Gazette's 5m Club (so what are the rest of you up to???) is that I worked six yards of tambour edging for a wedding veil for my City & Guilds Part 1 (and then ended up having to write an article for the Gazette - Winter 1996 or 7 or thereabouts I think - on tambour lace and how it is worked). The edging is one and a quarter inches wide, so I set up a 12" square embroidery frame (the Siesta type, for those in the UK - they have a "comb" joint at the corners so are fairly stable) in my embroidery stand and attached calico strips to both sides - allowing a gap of about one and a half inches down the centre. I cut the strips of net (the netting was 72" wide, so it needed three strips to be joined to work the length required) a little wider than this, and tacked the net to the calico, removing the tacking to move up as required. The design required two threads strung with (freshwater) pearls, and eight threads for the chain stitches. Beading is worked with the net the opposite way up to chain, as the bead sits on the straight (normally under) stitch, so this meant flipping the frame over each time to work the beaded lines. I was limited on time by the course, and found that I could only work five hours a day without my shoulders complaining. Once the strip was complete, it was joined to the 5ft diameter circle of net by overlapping the raw edges of the circle and edging and zig-zagging (the tambour finishing stitch) over the edges. It is important to work with a frame - you need both hands free to manoeuvre the thread and the hook. For small samples, stitch the net to calico (muslin in the US) and cut away the calico from the working area, using a tambour frame (ie embroidery hoop) and either a full stand or "fanny stand" to support it. Another instruction book was written by Jacqui Hathaway, and forms part of a kit put together and sold by Mainly Lace in the UK. She wrote the book so that her C&G students could continue with their homework during the college summer break, and I found it useful when I was doing tambour for my C&G. One of my students has since bought the kit (again, several years ago), and managed to do some work on her own following the instructions (she did bring the work into class a couple of times, but mostly concentrates on her bobbin lace in class). Mainly Lace have a web site, with a link from The Lace Guild's suppliers page, so it should be possible to check if the book and/or kit are still available. -- Jane Partridge - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
