Dear Susan, et al, Actually, I have nothing against modern handmade lace being cut, glued, or held in place with adhesive tape. If what you have made is of substantial value to you, you will instinctively not use harmful approaches. All circumstances and environments are not equal. We usually have a few newer members of Arachne to consider, as well as members living in a variety of climates around the world. If you plan to use antique laces for crafts, we always advise against any process that cannot be reversed. Let me remind of antique lace fans that have been mounted on fan sticks using glue. Most of us have seen these items for sale. Often, glue has stained the lace, destroying its esthetic beauty. Let us consider antique laces. Too few are still in the public domain. Cutting vintage or antique handmade lace or applying glue or adhesive tape to cut edges of such lace is rarely advised. It would be best if antique laces were not used to clothe teddy bears or dolls. Machine-made laces can be used for these and for ornaments and party favors. They are commercially available at reasonable prices. You can master the skill of over-lapping lace repeats, and sewing them together with a hand-held needle and fine thread. It is something I've been doing since age 7. Practice first on a short length of similar but unwanted lace. You will realize it is more efficient than setting up a sewing machine. Glues and adhesive tapes are made from a variety of materials that can introduce permanent harmful substances into lace. Some of these are edible attractions to small living organisms, which sets you up for an issue you never even thought about. Arachne conservation/restoration questions are usually referred to me. Or, search by subject or my name, for starters. When writing directly to me, please use a detailed Subject line, so I won't think it is spam. http://www.mail-archive.com/lace@arachne.com/index.html Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center P.S. Why is Arachne so quiet these days? I suspect Susan sent this just to prime some responses. --------------------------------------------------------- In a message dated 8/6/2016 3:49:33 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, hottl...@neo.rr.com writes:
I hope Jeri will skip this post because using glue & lace in the same sentence seems heretical! In my defense, I do believe that our textile-art ancestors used various types of adhesives, so that's my excuse & I'm sticking to it. While working on some little ornaments for embroidery friends, I was faced with making another 19 repeat strip of a Christine Springett French fan edging, or cutting off the needed amount from a previously worked strip. But what to do to stabilize the cut edge? I elected to carefully apply a small amount of Weldbond white glue (made in Canada), then let it dry & cut thru the middle of the dried glue section.... Is there another way to fix lace anomalies of this type without resorting to glue? If so, I'd like to learn about them. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
