[lace] waxing thread for bobbin lace
i was reading up on handspun sewing thread and it suggests to run it through bees wax before they start their sewing. does any one think it would have a bad affect to run the lace thread through the wax? it might stop the unwinding and unrolling of the thread. from susan in tennessee,u.s.a. Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Waxing thread for bobbin lace
One thing I haven't seen raised in this thread - I seem to recall that beeswax is acidic. I don't know how acidic, and I don't know if or how beeswax would affect linen thread over time, but it is something to think about. If somebody has a piece that was made, say, at least 5-10 years ago, that had beeswax on it, it would be interesting to hear from them as to the current condition of the piece. I am always very reluctant to put *anything* onto my linen threads, since the very first linen doily I made turned deep amber brown on the parts where I "reinforced" my knots with fabric glue. I know, I know, I wasn't supposed to do that - but the point is that the fabric glue claimed to be non-yellowing. It didn't yellow for at least 3 years, but after that - wow! Adele North Vancouver, BC (west coast of Canada) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Waxing thread for bobbin lace
On Saturday, July 30, 2005, at 11:07 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Waxing the silk thread is also a normal thing to do for Goldwork embroidery. I learnt Goldwork at the Royal School of Needlework and we were taught to wax (beeswax) our thread - cotton, polyester, or silk. I never thought of waxing my bobbin lace threads though, mainly because the purpose of it in Goldwork is to strengthen the threads since they go in and through metal. Since this doesn't apply to lace, I shudder to think of all the time involved waxing thread for hundreds of bobbins for no real result! Margot Walker in Halifax on the east coast of Canada. Finally got my phone connection back after a week without service! Visit the Seaspray Guild of Lacemakers web site: http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/quinbot/seaspray/SeasprayLaceGuild.html - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] waxing thread for bobbin lace
thanks. now i have a brand name to look for next time i shop for thread. --- Mic and Donna <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Susan, > I used to use beeswax, but now love "Thread Heaven" for all my > threads. > Bee's wax can melt or get brittle after a few years, but Thread > Heaven > conditions the thread without leaving a deposit on the thread. Hope > this > helps. > > Thread Heaven can be found in the sewing department of many stores, > and > comes in a little blue box about 1' X 1" X 1", usually on a card > because it > is so small. I love it. > > Smiles, > Donna > > - Original Message - > From: "susan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: > Sent: Wednesday, July 27, 2005 11:42 AM > Subject: [lace] waxing thread for bobbin lace > > > > i was reading up on handspun sewing thread and it suggests to run > it > > through bees wax before they start their sewing. does any one > think it > > would have a bad affect to run the lace thread through the wax? it > > might stop the unwinding and unrolling of the thread. > > > > from susan in tennessee,u.s.a. > > > > > > > > > > Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page > > http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs > > > > > > - > > To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the > line: > > unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > from susan in tennessee,u.s.a. __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] waxing thread for bobbin lace
i think it would be good on practice patterns. something you plan to take apart a few or more times would benefit from it. i wonder if it leaves gaps in the lace when it wears off and loosens the thread. it should keep the thread cleaner too. i am pretty sure they sell it like that, unless my memory is just off. i'll have to check it out. --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > I REALLY dislike this idea. When I've waxed thread before it feels > different (of course, it's been rubbed in wax). It makes the thread > stiffer. > > One of my lace teachers has told me that you should attempt to touch > your threads as little as possible while you are making the lace, to > try to > keep the oils on your skin from rubbing off on the lace. I'm not > sure I agree with this either, but I'm sure that I wouldn't want to > add anything > to my threads that will need to be washed off when the lace is > finished. > > Orla > > On Wed Jul 27 9:42 , susan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> sent: > > >i was reading up on handspun sewing thread and it suggests to run it > >through bees wax before they start their sewing. does any one think > it > >would have a bad affect to run the lace thread through the wax? it > >might stop the unwinding and unrolling of the thread. > > > >from susan in tennessee,u.s.a. > > > > > > > > > >Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page > >http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs > > > > > >- > >To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the > line: > >unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to > >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > from susan in tennessee,u.s.a. Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] waxing thread for bobbin lace -
I sort of hesitate to jump in herewhen I started lacing I had the same question re: beeswax. DH...beekeeper, said he would be afraid that the heavy beeswax would attract dust to the thread.Thus I never used it. Take this for what it is worthI keep my beeswax in my sewing basket for buttons! BarbE - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: [lace] Waxing thread for bobbin lace
> Adele Shaak Wrote > on29 July 2005 01:13 > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [lace] Waxing thread for bobbin lace > > > If somebody has a piece that was made, say, at least 5-10 years ago, > that had beeswax on it, it would be interesting to hear from them as to > the current condition of the piece. I am always very reluctant to put > *anything* onto my linen threads, since the very first linen doily I > made turned deep amber brown on the parts where I "reinforced" my knots > with fabric glue. Can you remember what fabric glue you used? I sometime use fray check in sewing. My friend uses June Taylors fray stop glue. I would be interested to know if any one has any long term experience of either. Jane Portchester UK - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Waxing thread for bobbin lace
Waxing thread for sewing goes back a good many years - probably hundreds -and was a standard *must do* for buttonholes, especially heavy 'tailored' garments. They were done with linen, cotton or silk thread depending on fashion and fabric. I'm sure that if it caused the thread to rot away after even quite a while it would have been spotted at some stage, and have become common knowledge. It was used to strengthen the stitches long term, not to weaken them. Waxing the silk thread is also a normal thing to do for Goldwork embroidery. As a lot of the heirloom style church vestments are embellished with Goldwork, once more I think it would have been discovered by now if bees' wax is not good for silk thread long term. Although I don't think it's something we use much in lacemaking, I do know that at least some of the 'disappearing' ink type pens (that quilters use to draw the stitching lines on fabric), weaken the fibre and long term have left damage on quilts. As this takes some while to show up, I hope that the more modern pens no longer have this effect. As I write this, I am wondering what Tamara and others were using to draw their designs on the tulle (net?) for tambouring, and if this is the same sort of thing. Jacquie in Lincolnshire - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] waxing thread for bobbin lace - Jeri's experience
In a message dated 7/27/05 6:38:45 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > it isn't the problem with it slipping > out of stitch while the piece is still being worked. it is the > loosening of the stitches once the wax has faded that i am worried > about. once the lace is washed a few times and the thread becomes > thinner, it will slip a little. this would defintely mess up a picot. > > Dear Lacemakers, As many know, I have washed a lot of lace. It is not noticible that "it will slip a little" if it is a standard lace, and not an experiment. Experienced lacemakers allow for shrinkage, sometimes by making a small sample to test, if it is a new thread to them. If it is a weak lace, as suztq fears, it may fall apart for many reasons. My observation is that a weak lace (either through poor techniques or poor threads) would not have been "saved" by waxed threads for any length of time! Lace has been made for 5+ centuries by thousands and thousands (surely over a million) lacemakers who have refined the process through the centuries. It was known from the beginning, I am sure, that picots would close up in water and that if one wanted to restore them to original shape it was necessary to make lace of a scale that they could be pinned out when the lace was drying. In antique laces, closed picots is one way I can tell if a lace has been washed - an advantage, because then I automatically know it can be washed again (other conditions being considered), without having to "test" it!! And then, it is up to me whether to pin it out. Part of the instructions to new lacemakers is to leave a new bobbin lace on the pillow overnight so the last few inches of crosses and twists will "set" and keep their definition. This is probably because the teachers know that many new lacemakers have not established the correct tension yet. Hopefully, a teacher will have specified an appropriate thread. The professional lacemakers of Europe would have put their pillows right to work on a new lace. Once a piece of lace was complete, it was quite necessary to start another. They depended on the lace made each day for their daily bread, while we have time to "play" with it. While it is nice to be inventive, it is wise to first learn what has been done successfully. I recommend reading more of the history of laces, which is quite affordable on the Professor's web site, before coming up with something that lacemakers before us have surely tried and discarded as being unnecessary or impractical. The subject of wax reminds me of the story Angela Thompson told us about a carefully stored beaded gown of probably the early 20th C. Mice got into the box in her storage closet, and they chewed on the waxed threads (usually used for beading because of strength and less possibility of beads cutting the thread) for nourishment. The beaded dress became a pile of beads and tiny pieces of waxless thread! Waxed lace, applied to some delicate fabrics, could mean staining of the fabrics, because you have not considered storage conditions and climate differences in different nations -- Arachne is an *International* list! Consider that wax is quite hard to remove. If you've ever tried to get candle wax out of table cloths, you can understand (one reason why I always recommend white candles - not brightly-colored ones)! By the way (for people who have never taken home economics classes) thread is wound on spools so that the cut end will be inserted into the needle on a sewing machine. You should also insert that cut end into a sewing needle eye to keep the thread from twisting and knotting up when you hand-sew. Otherwise, you are hand sewing against the grain of the thread. If you are using up sewing machine bobbin threads, reverse the end you put in your hand sewing needle. If any of this information I keep putting on Arachne is of value, once in a while I'd love to hear from some one or two of the 1,200(?) lurkers on the Arachne list. Same goes for the other responders who keep trying to be of help - if they hear from you, they know their time is of value. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace & Embroidery Resource Center - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] waxing thread for bobbin lace - Jeri's experience
Thanks for the information on thread wound on spools Jeri. This information was never passed on in my needlework lessons and would explain why I have sometimes experienced thread twisting when hand sewing. Later in life, I discovered that embroidery thread has a "nap" and now tend to run my fingers along stranded cotton to identify the best way to thread the needle. Karen In Coventry also enjoying the latest edition of Lace Jeri wrote: By the way (for people who have never taken home economics classes) thread is wound on spools so that the cut end will be inserted into the needle on a sewing machine. You should also insert that cut end into a sewing needle eye to keep the thread from twisting and knotting up when you hand-sew. Otherwise, you are hand sewing against the grain of the thread. If you are using up sewing machine bobbin threads, reverse the end you put in your hand sewing needle. -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.338 / Virus Database: 267.9.6/59 - Release Date: 27/07/2005 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.338 / Virus Database: 267.9.6/59 - Release Date: 27/07/2005 - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] waxing thread for bobbin lace - Jeri's experience
Jeri, I for one really appreciate your input on 'threads' such as this. I only wish I could take some of the classes you have been able to. I make it a point to 'print and file' your posts. Thank you again Lorri If any of this information I keep putting on Arachne is of value, once in a while I'd love to hear from some one or two of the 1,200(?) lurkers on the Arachne list. Same goes for the other responders who keep trying to be of help - if they hear from you, they know their time is of value. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace & Embroidery Resource Center - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] waxing thread for bobbin lace - Jeri's experience
Jeri, I consider myself an illiterate in textile, so every mail of yours is a treasure to keep. Thanks for your information. Carolina. Barcelona. Spain. -- Carolina de la Guardia http://www.geocities.com/carolgallego Witch Stitch Lace II now available If any of this information I keep putting on Arachne is of value, once in a while I'd love to hear from some one or two of the 1,200(?) lurkers on the Arachne list. Same goes for the other responders who keep trying to be of help - if they hear from you, they know their time is of value. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace & Embroidery Resource Center - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] waxing thread for bobbin lace - Jeri's experience
Waxed Linnenthreads have tradition in needlelace, I still wax my thread when I work linnen for needlelace, but I dont use bee-wax, I use a common tealight and my lace is washed after finishing my lace, so the wax will not stay on the fiber. The difference during work is considerable as a waxed thread will be smoth and strong, a not waxed thread will break often and of course always on the wrong places. As you need to cut out all the places where the thread has this little thick wool, so you will have a considerable loss of thread too. Considering the difference in technique, I never had the idea to wax my thread for a BL-project, in my eyes that will be a considerable loss of time for no use at all. On the other hand I use my rests on bobbins to do a little piece of needlelace or sewing, as I hate to throw them away. Alix from Luxembourg - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] waxing thread for bobbin lace - Jeri's experience
your help and your knowledge is appreciated, and i mean no disrespect towards your studies, but bobbin lace is meant to be experimented with for each new beginner until they find the results they are looking for. i can also definitley tell you are correct that the lace won't budge by the plaits i made on this small strip of lace, but not one picot will remain in that imaginarily permanent position of two little tennis rackets. if you look at the thread while it is finished there is nothing holding the picot in the position of the little brackets. there is thread holding the picot where it is made and there is thread pulled outward where the two picots go, but no way is that little thing going to stay twisted in that shape without some other kind of help. it is something that maybe some one will fix each time they wash it and starch it to remain there? it must be. i'm not arguing the history of lace. it has been around longer than any lacemaker i'll ever see or know, but to keep those little hoops in place there must be another way. i think i'll buy some bedfordlace from someone who makes beautiful picots, so i will have a good example of how it was made. thank you for your help. sincerely, --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > In a message dated 7/27/05 6:38:45 PM Eastern Daylight Time, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > > > it isn't the problem with it slipping > > out of stitch while the piece is still being worked. it is the > > loosening of the stitches once the wax has faded that i am worried > > about. once the lace is washed a few times and the thread becomes > > thinner, it will slip a little. this would defintely mess up a > picot. > > > > > > Dear Lacemakers, > > As many know, I have washed a lot of lace. It is not noticible that > "it will > slip a little" if it is a standard lace, and not an experiment. > Experienced > lacemakers allow for shrinkage, sometimes by making a small sample to > test, if > it is a new thread to them. If it is a weak lace, as suztq fears, it > may > fall apart for many reasons. My observation is that a weak lace > (either through > poor techniques or poor threads) would not have been "saved" by > waxed threads > for any length of time! > > Lace has been made for 5+ centuries by thousands and thousands > (surely over a > million) lacemakers who have refined the process through the > centuries. It > was known from the beginning, I am sure, that picots would close up > in water > and that if one wanted to restore them to original shape it was > necessary to > make lace of a scale that they could be pinned out when the lace was > drying. In > antique laces, closed picots is one way I can tell if a lace has been > washed - > an advantage, because then I automatically know it can be washed > again (other > conditions being considered), without having to "test" it!! And > then, it is > up to me whether to pin it out. > > Part of the instructions to new lacemakers is to leave a new bobbin > lace on > the pillow overnight so the last few inches of crosses and twists > will "set" > and keep their definition. This is probably because the teachers > know that many > new lacemakers have not established the correct tension yet. > Hopefully, a > teacher will have specified an appropriate thread. > > The professional lacemakers of Europe would have put their pillows > right to > work on a new lace. Once a piece of lace was complete, it was quite > necessary > to start another. They depended on the lace made each day for their > daily > bread, while we have time to "play" with it. > > While it is nice to be inventive, it is wise to first learn what has > been > done successfully. I recommend reading more of the history of laces, > which is > quite affordable on the Professor's web site, before coming up with > something > that lacemakers before us have surely tried and discarded as being > unnecessary > or impractical. > > The subject of wax reminds me of the story Angela Thompson told us > about a > carefully stored beaded gown of probably the early 20th C. Mice got > into the > box in her storage closet, and they chewed on the waxed threads > (usually used > for beading because of strength and less possibility of beads cutting > the > thread) for nourishment. The beaded dress became a pile of beads and > tiny pieces of > waxless thread! > > Waxed lace, applied to some delicate fabrics, could mean staining of > the > fabrics, because you have not considered storage conditions and > climate > differences in different nations -- Arachne is an *International* > list! Consider that > wax is quite hard to remove. If you've ever tried to get candle wax > out of > table cloths, you can understand (one reason why I always recommend > white candles > - not brightly-colored ones)! > > By the way (for people who have never taken home economics classes) > thread is > wound on spools so that the cut end will be inser
RE: [lace] waxing thread for bobbin lace - Jeri's experience
Hi Susan, Some things just require practice. The more picots you make the better they become. Don't give up. May the sun shine brightly on your projects today! Susie Johnson Morris, Illinois [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.comcast.net/~cjohnson0969/home.html -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of susan Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2005 11:58 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [lace] waxing thread for bobbin lace - Jeri's experience your help and your knowledge is appreciated, and i mean no disrespect towards your studies, but bobbin lace is meant to be experimented with for each new beginner until they find the results they are looking for. i can also definitley tell you are correct that the lace won't budge by the plaits i made on this small strip of lace, but not one picot will remain in that imaginarily permanent position of two little tennis rackets. if you look at the thread while it is finished there is nothing holding the picot in the position of the little brackets. there is thread holding the picot where it is made and there is thread pulled outward where the two picots go, but no way is that little thing going to stay twisted in that shape without some other kind of help. it is something that maybe some one will fix each time they wash it and starch it to remain there? it must be. i'm not arguing the history of lace. it has been around longer than any lacemaker i'll ever see or know, but to keep those little hoops in place there must be another way. i think i'll buy some bedfordlace from someone who makes beautiful picots, so i will have a good example of how it was made. thank you for your help. sincerely, --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > In a message dated 7/27/05 6:38:45 PM Eastern Daylight Time, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > > > it isn't the problem with it slipping > > out of stitch while the piece is still being worked. it is the > > loosening of the stitches once the wax has faded that i am worried > > about. once the lace is washed a few times and the thread becomes > > thinner, it will slip a little. this would defintely mess up a > picot. > > > > > > Dear Lacemakers, > > As many know, I have washed a lot of lace. It is not noticible that > "it will > slip a little" if it is a standard lace, and not an experiment. > Experienced > lacemakers allow for shrinkage, sometimes by making a small sample to > test, if > it is a new thread to them. If it is a weak lace, as suztq fears, it > may > fall apart for many reasons. My observation is that a weak lace > (either through > poor techniques or poor threads) would not have been "saved" by > waxed threads > for any length of time! > > Lace has been made for 5+ centuries by thousands and thousands > (surely over a > million) lacemakers who have refined the process through the > centuries. It > was known from the beginning, I am sure, that picots would close up > in water > and that if one wanted to restore them to original shape it was > necessary to > make lace of a scale that they could be pinned out when the lace was > drying. In > antique laces, closed picots is one way I can tell if a lace has been > washed - > an advantage, because then I automatically know it can be washed > again (other > conditions being considered), without having to "test" it!! And > then, it is > up to me whether to pin it out. > > Part of the instructions to new lacemakers is to leave a new bobbin > lace on > the pillow overnight so the last few inches of crosses and twists > will "set" > and keep their definition. This is probably because the teachers > know that many > new lacemakers have not established the correct tension yet. > Hopefully, a > teacher will have specified an appropriate thread. > > The professional lacemakers of Europe would have put their pillows > right to > work on a new lace. Once a piece of lace was complete, it was quite > necessary > to start another. They depended on the lace made each day for their > daily > bread, while we have time to "play" with it. > > While it is nice to be inventive, it is wise to first learn what has > been > done successfully. I recommend reading more of the history of laces, > which is > quite affordable on the Professor's web site, before coming up with > something > that lacemakers before us have surely tried and discarded as being > unnecessary > or impractical. > > The subject of wax reminds me of the story Angela Thompson told us > about a > carefully stored beaded gown of probably the early 20th C. Mice got > into the > box in her storage closet, and they chewed on the waxed th
Re: [lace] waxing thread for bobbin lace - Jeri's experience
Susan wrote... > but not one picot will remain in that imaginarily permanent position of two little tennis rackets. if you look at the thread while it is finished there is nothing holding the picot in the position of the little brackets. there is thread holding the picot where it is made and there is thread pulled outward where the two picots go, but no way is that little thing going to stay twisted in that shape without some other kind of help. it is something that maybe some one will fix each time they wash it and starch it to remain there? it must be. < Hi Susan ! I may have misunderstood you, but from your description, it sounds as though you're looking for picots in which there are two visible little loops for each picot. If this is correct, then you're not looking for the same "ideal" picot that I look for. In most lace, (and there are exceptions to every rule...) a picot is worked around a pin in one of several methods and when the pin is eventually removed, the picot should look as though the pin were still there, only invisible!! In other words, a perfect little "o" on top of a tiny, almost invisible "stem". And ideally, it should lie flat on the same plane that the rest of the lace lies on. So if you're unable to get the "crossed tennis racket" look, then you've probably got ideal picots and didn't even know it!! Clay -Original Message- From: susan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Jul 28, 2005 12:57 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [lace] waxing thread for bobbin lace - Jeri's experience your help and your knowledge is appreciated, and i mean no disrespect towards your studies, but bobbin lace is meant to be experimented with for each new beginner until they find the results they are looking for. i can also definitley tell you are correct that the lace won't budge by the plaits i made on this small strip of lace, but not one picot will remain in that imaginarily permanent position of two little tennis rackets. if you look at the thread while it is finished there is nothing holding the picot in the position of the little brackets. there is thread holding the picot where it is made and there is thread pulled outward where the two picots go, but no way is that little thing going to stay twisted in that shape without some other kind of help. it is something that maybe some one will fix each time they wash it and starch it to remain there? it must be. i'm not arguing the history of lace. it has been around longer than any lacemaker i'll ever see or know, but to keep those little hoops in place there must be another way. i think i'll buy some bedfordlace from someone who makes beautiful picots, so i will have a good example of how it was made. thank you for your help. sincerely, --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > In a message dated 7/27/05 6:38:45 PM Eastern Daylight Time, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > > > it isn't the problem with it slipping > > out of stitch while the piece is still being worked. it is the > > loosening of the stitches once the wax has faded that i am worried > > about. once the lace is washed a few times and the thread becomes > > thinner, it will slip a little. this would defintely mess up a > picot. > > > > > > Dear Lacemakers, > > As many know, I have washed a lot of lace. It is not noticible that > "it will > slip a little" if it is a standard lace, and not an experiment. > Experienced > lacemakers allow for shrinkage, sometimes by making a small sample to > test, if > it is a new thread to them. If it is a weak lace, as suztq fears, it > may > fall apart for many reasons. My observation is that a weak lace > (either through > poor techniques or poor threads) would not have been "saved" by > waxed threads > for any length of time! > > Lace has been made for 5+ centuries by thousands and thousands > (surely over a > million) lacemakers who have refined the process through the > centuries. It > was known from the beginning, I am sure, that picots would close up > in water > and that if one wanted to restore them to original shape it was > necessary to > make lace of a scale that they could be pinned out when the lace was > drying. In > antique laces, closed picots is one way I can tell if a lace has been > washed - > an advantage, because then I automatically know it can be washed > again (other > conditions being considered), without having to "test" it!! And > then, it is > up to me whether to pin it out. > > Part of the instructions to new lacemakers is to leave a new bobbin > lace on > the pillow overnight so the last few inches of crosses and twists > will "set" > a
RE: [lace] Waxing thread for bobbin lace and threading the needle -- just twist
Hello, Here's another viewpoint to think over: It is really important to wind bobbins so that the thread is not pulled off the top of the spool. You need to devise a method that will allow the spool to turn as you remove the thread. Any other way will either add or subtract twist, which will give you kinky, tangled thread. There are some nifty little spool holders that allow the spools to twist as the thread unwinds. A simple one can also be made at home with a small block of wood and a nail to hold the spool. And fabric stores hold little thread holders (also a place for your needles and thimble) that will work. As a matter of fact, people who have trouble with breaking threads would do well to regularly check their threads to make sure that the turning of the bobbins during the lacemaking does not untwist the thread. If it does, then just re-twist. I could almost guarantee your thread breaking problems will disappear. For that matter, the same is true in hand sewing. I always wax my natural threads, and often use thread heaven on sythetic threads. Jeri mentioned this but with so much information in her posting perhaps some of you missed it. My mother taught me fifty years ago to thread the needle from the end that comes first off the spool, but in my experience it doesn't make much difference. (I've always wondered if it is a bit of an old wives tale without much substance). And course coatings such as beeswax discourage the thread from untwisting. But if I'm caught without the wax (read, too lazy to go get it) I find that re-twisting the thread regularly as I sew eliminates the tendency of the thread to tangle and knot on itself. Perspective of a long-time spinner, Regards, Carolyn Carolyn W. Hastings Stow, MA USA - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Waxing thread for bobbin lace and threading the needle -- just twist
On 30 Jul 2005, at 18:42, Carolyn Hastings wrote: My mother taught me fifty years ago to thread the needle from the end that comes first off the spool, but in my experience it doesn't make much difference. (I've always wondered if it is a bit of an old wives tale without much substance). I tend to agree with you Carolyn. Some people may find that the natural process is to use the end from the spool (or vice verca) and that way will perhaps not tangle the thread so much, but logically there is no reason that I can think of for specifiying which end to thread first when using cotton or any other staple fibre such as spun silk. The staples (short lengths of fibre) are initially lying in all directions, the combing and carding processes make them lie more or less parallel to each other but not necessarily all in the same direction, some may have turned 180 degrees in relation to others. Mechanical spinning then produces a product which is teh same from either end. With hand spun thread where the thread passes through teh fingers as it is formed just possibly there is a slight directional nap. For filament silk there could be a slight difference as all the fibres in a thread would have been unwound from the cocoons starting from the outside, but I don't think that would have any noticable effect as under the microscope silk fibres are uniformly smooth as are man-made fibres, Linen is the one exception: bast fibres do have a definite top and bottom and the various pre-spinning processes keep the bundles of fibres in order so there will be a "top" and a 'bottom" to a linen thread - but how often does one thread linen into a needle nowadays? Brenda http://paternoster.orpheusweb.co.uk - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
