Dear Sr. Claire,
 
With thread of age, it is a good idea to test for strength and whether it  
not only looks good but is still strong.  I mean, has the strength been  
compromised?  If I am considering such old thread for use in lace repairs  (and 
I do prefer old thread that more-closely matches old laces for this  
purpose), I want to know it will not disintegrate when used.
 
Once before on Arachne I wrote about 6-strand DMC embroidery flosses that I 
 had (as a teenager in the late 1950's) wound around empty sewing  thread 
wooden spools and put away in a sewing basket.  When I  unpacked the sewing 
basket and found the threads almost 50 years later, I  took a length (by the 
6 strands, which should be strong) between  fingers of one hand and placed 
the other hand's finger-grip about  12" away.  Gave the threads a quick yank. 
 They broke.  That  was 6 strands.  If I were to separate and use less, the 
threads  would have been much weaker.
 
I believe the wooden spools off-gased acid.  The sewing basket had,  from 
time-to-time, been stored in a cardboard box in attics where the  temperature 
and humidity had fluctuated.  Thread responds to such a  environment by 
expanding and contracting slightly with climate changes.   Sometimes quickly, 
from a very hot Summer day to a cool Summer night.   This sort of fiber 
movement causes wear that is not visible.
 
Everyone can learn from this experience.  Please be sure that  the 
embroidery threads are strong before investing time in using them for  
something 
time-consuming and special.  I hope your threads will not  have suffered from 
the passage of time and the environment. 
 
Jeri Ames in  Maine USA
Lace and Embroidery Resource Center  

 
In a message dated 8/26/2010 11:42:13 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
quietasa...@gmail.com writes:

My old  monastery just gave me a box of wonderful old embroidery threads,
probably  from France in the early to mid-20th century. Among the threads 
are
four  larger skeins of something that might be appropriate for a coarse  
lace.


Only one of the skeins still has a tag on it. The label  reads:
No. 4
LCF
Coeur de Lin
Superfin
300 Tours

Has  anyone heard of it?

Thanks,
Sr. Claire

-
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

Reply via email to