I have found myself in a similar position. I am trying to teach some young people in their 20's and 30s how to make lace. Even though I make complex lace now, I learned so long ago that I don't really remember the beginning things or how they were taught. I learned through a series of patterns which started you off with torchon edgings. If this isn't, in fact, the exact same curriculum my teacher learned in the 1930s, then it is one that she settled on during the 1950s when one might make the argument that it was satisfying for the pupil to have "something useful" such as an edging, rather than a series of practice pieces, lengths of stitches or grounds that were simply for practice, which I think may have been a teaching method from around 1900. However, now, edgings are not all that useful. People tend not to put them on linens and handkerchiefs. Also, these edgings present conceptual problems, since they are torchon, but so small that you cannot see the diagonality of the design, and they feature, on the head side, a half stitch lozenge or other device, that is totally confusing in that it is worked back and forth, while the rest of the piece is worked diagonally. I can relate to their confusion. I have been studying books, old and new about instruction, and it seems to me that for the most part, it is an accepted truth in the lace world that everyone starts with torchon, and only after mastering that, goes on to tape laces etc. However, I am wondering if starting with torchon is actually the best approach for the current century. I am wondering if young people today wouldn't be better off starting with forms of tape lace or free lace that they could quickly use to adapt to their own designs. While the Springett Snake and Gyl Dye's Bookworm start the student off with a satisfying back and forth strip, they both progress to classic diagonal torchon. The only curriculum I have seen with a free lace perspective is one produced by the German lace guild. It is somewhat oriented toward children, featuring pieces that are ducks and rabbits, etc. It also seems as though it may move rather slowly. This may be good or bad for adults. I do find that adults don't have a lot of time at once, or want to spend it, so small projects are good. But small projects that move the student forward in skill very slowly are perhaps not appropriate for people who want to progress fast enough not to lose interest. I confess I haven't started to work through it, or to see how it goes with students, since my students, so far, were started on this other curriculum, the one I learned on. They therefore have the materials and mind set to progress with it, although, they find it confusing. I have a horrible feeling that they may become discouraged and quit altogether, since they keep saying that they don't understand the underlying principles, and it is totally unlike anything they have done before. I feel they are experiencing a lot of stress as I am trying to help them follow a color diagram, already pretty weird with its one line for a pair of bobbins concept. But the design is complex enough that you really have to either use a diagram or memorize quite a large number of discreet movements. The younger the student, the more quickly they seem to memorize the large number of discreet movements. But some people never do, and I confess, I doubt if I could given the state of my memory at present. (People who have seen me work note that I often rely on a ghost pillow and diagram.) Another issue is what the student believes she will be learning. On the one hand, I am a person who thinks that modern lace, individual design, etc. are the shape of lacemaking of the future, and that torchon is a somewhat old fashioned, or even, dare I say boring, looking lace. On the other hand, the students, some of them, have the conception that they will be turning out yards of frilly white stuff. Of course, they are not going to be turning out yards of frilly white stuff, or making lace resembling 18th century lace, at least not for a very long time, and never in great quantity. But they are slow to see items like the snake, book worm or modern free lace as being "lace". So, in some ways, my conception of teaching lace technique to young art students and having them go off to use it in fantastic modern ways does not conform to the expectations of the young art students who are interested in learning how to make lace. Ideally, it would be nice to have a curriculum that shows both stitch diagrams and the international color code system, although that is a lot to throw at people at once.. Many books do not have the color code, although the German one does. Books such as the DMC curriculum, from way back, are entirely in text, which I think must be the hardest way to convey the process. How are other people approaching the teaching of lace, what books do they use, and what are the pros and cons of different approaches and curriculums? Devon In a message dated 4/6/2010 8:18:37 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, ship...@googlemail.com writes:
Hi all, I have two colleagues who have now started bobbin lace and want to continue. I started each of them with cloth stitch (CTC), just making a narrow strip to get the movements and the "rules" of bobbin lace down. I'm not sure that I am the best teacher they could have, as once I had had the first couple lessons I just jumped in at the deep end and started splashing around with great abandon. My planning for these ladies is, more or less in this order: - cloth stitch ground (already introduced) - whole stitch (CTCT) - trading working and footside pairs - half-stitch ground (CT) - braids / plaits (CTCT ad infinitum) - various other grounds as needed for their chosen laces; one colleague has chosen Bucks/Bayeux, one has yet to choose as she just started today - gimps - working through a series of patterns in their chosen lace(s), introducing new techniques Does this sound like a reasonable progression? Am I leaving anything out? Thanks for your help! Best regards Elizabeth - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
