[lace] Flowers and stiffner
Hello I have finally begun working on a lace flower. One of a number I hope over the coming weeks. I bought coloured thread to work them only to find that it is too fine for the patterns I am working on, so I have begun using the venus colours I have instead. This first one is the daisy from the fantasy flowers book and most of it is ok, I am struggling a bit with the central area.I decided to use wire as an outside gimp so I could bend leaves into shape rather than have them floppy or use stiffner of another kind but I find the wire crinkles up from time to time. I have smoothed it out gently and its ok, but I am wondering about working with starch, or other kinds of stiffner for other flowers. Can I ask those people in the UK, what type of product they use to stiffen larger flowers (this one done 85% or the original pattern size) not the small size of some of the separate leaf shapes in some other flower books I have. I am considering working some of these tiny ones too, using the separate leaves and making up one leaf at a time. I dont want to spray things onto my pillow, so I am expecting to take them off there but could pin them out onto another surface before spraying, pasting, or whatever. Any comments or advise mose welcome. Sue T Dorset, UK Bobbin Lace and Glass engravings http://www.hurwitzend.co.uk - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Flowers and stiffner
Sue Could you maybe 'make the lace' as you would any other pattern... then bend wire into the same shape and blanket stitch it round as you would in needle lace? Otherwise, try spraying it once made and off the pillow with hairspray, but it may get sticky over time Just a thought... Sue in a dismal EY On 21 Oct 2009, at 12:18, Sue wrote: > Hello > > I have finally begun working on a lace flower. One of a number I > hope over the coming weeks. I bought coloured thread to work them > only to find that it is too fine for the patterns I am working on, > so I have begun using the venus colours I have instead. This first > one is the daisy from the fantasy flowers book and most of it is ok, > I am struggling a bit with the central area.I decided to use > wire as an outside gimp so I could bend leaves into shape rather > than have them floppy or use stiffner of another kind but I find the > wire crinkles up from time to time. I have smoothed it out gently > and its ok, but I am wondering about working with starch, or other > kinds of stiffner for other flowers. > Can I ask those people in the UK, what type of product they use to > stiffen larger flowers (this one done 85% or the original pattern > size) not the small size of some of the separate leaf shapes in some > other flower books I have. I am considering working some of these > tiny ones too, using the separate leaves and making up one leaf at a > time. I dont want to spray things onto my pillow, so I am expecting > to take them off there but could pin them out onto another surface > before spraying, pasting, or whatever. > Any comments or advise mose welcome. > > Sue T Dorset, UK > Bobbin Lace and Glass engravings > http://www.hurwitzend.co.uk > - > To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the > line: > unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to > arachnemodera...@yahoo.com Regards Sue. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Flowers and stiffner
If you're going to use hairspray, Ulrike Loehr's technique of spraying it on to glossy card (eg cereal box) and using a paint brush to apply it, gives a nice fine application. Much better than spraying it directly on to the lace. Ulrike uses it on her black Chantilly lace, but this only gives a light stiffening to the lace. Hairspray can of course be washed out and the stiffening affect is altered by humidity. Part of the City & Guilds part 1 course included investigating sittfening substances, and my preference was to use diluted wood glue (50/50 wiht water), wiht good effect., and no obvious long term yellowing. I used Evo-Stick Wood Adhesive. It's a PVA glue I also liked the old Moravia extr-stiffening starch - came with a pruple label. I've not been so keen on the newer version (superstarch), but that may be a rogue bottle. I haven't been doing so much sitffneing lately . I don't lknwo who stocks MOravia products in the UK, as I ma out of touch as people retire and i have lived in America for 10 years Sue - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Flowers and stiffner
Dear Friends, whilst I haven't tried it myself, I recall hearing some years ago that a great stiffening agent is to make a saturated solution of polystyrene in turpentine. You just take chunks of polystyrene from around your new TV or whatever and dissolve them in turpentine until no more will go in. Turps is magic on Polystyrene. I used to use a similar thing when I was teaching kids. Those were the days when meat from the supermarket came in those thin polystyrene trays. You simply draw on the back using a "real" smelly Texta pen. It slightly dissolves the polystyrene and then you can use your drawing to make prints from. I know it sounds really aggressive, but maybe not. Has anyone here ever used it? David in Ballarat If you're going to use hairspray, Ulrike Loehr's technique of spraying it on to glossy card (eg cereal box) and using a paint brush to apply it, - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] Dillmont
The original French edition was issued in 1886, an English version is available online at: http://encyclopediaofneedlework.com/index.htm http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20776/20776-h/20776-h.htm Ruth P. Hellmann has written about Therese de Dillmont in the Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club vol 59 nos 1&2 1976: http://www.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/articles/nb76_dil.pdf Her appendices 1 and 2 list the chapters in the 1886 and 1913 French editions respectively. Vibeke in Copenhagen - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Flowers and stiffner
I know Sue asked for UK suppliers, but I thought I would pass on my experience to anyone. If you have received your new Bulletin, on the inside cover is a Christmas Angel that I designed. I stiffened it with hairspray originally but it went limp (as shown in the photo). I then used undiluted Sta-Flo liquid starch. That also went limp over time. Yesterday I was giving the sample to a friend and I decided to try another stiffener. I got api's Crafter's Pick Fabric Stiffener (cheaper than Stiffy, about $4). I paint my starch on and then blot any excess with paper towel. The instructions said to let it dry so I did not use a hairdryer to speed up the process. It did dry clear but I did not put it on the gold metallic thread just in case it made it dull. I liked the Moravia starch but I think it had a shelf life problem and my second bottle went solid and was undilutable. Janice Sue Babbs wrote: I also liked the old Moravia extra-stiffening starch - came with a pruple label. I've not been so keen on the newer version (superstarch), but that may be a rogue bottle. I haven't been doing so much sitffening lately . I don't lknwo who stocks MOravia products in the UK, as I ma out of touch as people retire and i have lived in America for 10 years Janice Blair Crystal Lake, 50 miles northwest of Chicago, Illinois, USA www.jblace.com http://www.lacemakersofillinois.org - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
RE: [lace] Flowers and stiffner
Last year at the OIDFA congress in Groningen, I did the course on 's Gravenmoerse lace and the teacher used something in a spray can called "Fixative" and it worked a treat. Here in South Africa I have now used Artist's fixative with the same result. It is not a heavy stiffener and does not dull the thread like some other stiffeners. A friend has also brought me a can of Fixative from Germany. The lace is sprayed while still on the pillow and then immediately dabbed with a tissue to soak up the excess. You repeat the process until you have reached the derised stiffness. Jeanette Fischer, Western Cape, South Africa. __ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4529 (20091021) __ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] Teneriffe Pillow Question
A friend of mine, and a classmate in my bobbin lace class, found a pillow labeled pincushion at a Thrift Store. We, including our teacher, agree that this appears to be a Teneriffe Pillow, albeit an unusual one. My friend would like to know if anyone is familiar with Teneriffe Pillows looking like this one? And perhaps why it was made this way? I do not know how to post photos on the Arachne site so here are links to photobucket: http://s40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/tinneyp/?action=view¤t=teneriffe pillowsquareside.jpg http://s40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/tinneyp/?action=view¤t=teneriffe pillowcircleside.jpg Thank you, Pat T. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Flowers and stiffner
Hi Sue and everyone, Lots of good advice - to followup on what someone mentioned from Ulrike, if you have a spray product, spritz it into a clean container like a small plastic food tub, dab the liquid on the lace with a cheapie craft paintbrush. Then you aren't getting spraylets everywhere. Plan ahead if you are going to starch a piece - I used to take the lace off the pillow and carefully repin to a hard foam scrap but that was time consuming. I now starch right on the pillow - *but* I have a layer of craft foam between the pricking and the cotton pillow surface. The foam extends quite a bit past the pricking, just in case, to protect the pillow surface. For the pricking: I make it on quite stiff card, paste the photocopy of the pricking on, and put clear adhesive tape in overlapping layers on the pricking to prevent the photocopy ink from getting damp (then I can use the pricking over again). I don't use the adhesive film because I usually mess up the placement, with wrinkling. On the finished lace, still with most pins in to keep the shape, I dab the starch on with the craft brush - v. cheap nylon brush (I use Moravia but this applies to any stiffener, I should think). When the piece is dry to touch, I take out the pins, push them into one of my wool-stuffed pincushions to clean them (starch doesn't seem to adhere to stainless steel much?) and while the starching is still pliable, bend or shape the piece to suit. There is a buildup of shiny areas of starch on the pricking, which doesn't affect the use :) I tried hairspray, doing the spray into container, dab with a brush method, and don't like the finished effect :( Now what do I do with a nearly full bottle of this hair spray... anyway, hope this else helps On Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 4:18 AM, Sue wrote: > I dont want to spray things onto my pillow, so I am expecting to take them > off there but could pin them out onto another surface before spraying, > pasting, or whatever. > Any comments or advise mose welcome. > > -- Bev in Shirley BC, near Sooke on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of Canada - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Flowers and stiffner
Hello David and everyone Turps is magic on Polystyrene > Yes, well we were warned not to put gasoline into a styrofoam cup for the same reason :p a great stiffening agent is to make a saturated solution of polystyrene in > turpentine > I would be concerned about off-gassing to begin with, and whatever the residue is on my lace?! -- Bev in Shirley BC, near Sooke on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of Canada - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Flowers and stiffner
Lots of really good info here and of course you even answered another question before I got to ask it, ie what do I do to clean off the pins. I better get my steel pins out then because I normally use the brass ones. The initial kit came with them and I carried on buying pots of those to make sure I had enough. A couple of times I bought the silver ones but didn't want to mix them up and also not wanting to confuse them with the dressmaking pins in another pot. What I might do is get out some of my little sample bits of lace and play with them first, that way I dont wreck a flower piece that has taken ages to make:-) by doing it wrong. DH says he has some hairspray he bought to overseal some printing done on artists type paper and I bought some for my hair, used it twice and gave up:-) I also have some white pva glue. Thank you to lots of you for your suggestions and advice, what a font of knowledge we have here, aren't we lucky people. Sue T Hi Sue and everyone, Lots of good advice - to followup on what someone mentioned from Ulrike, if you have a spray product, spritz it into a clean container like a small plastic food tub, dab the liquid on the lace with a cheapie craft paintbrush. Then you aren't getting spraylets everywhere. Plan ahead if you are going to starch a piece - I used to take the lace off the pillow and carefully repin to a hard foam scrap but that was time consuming. I now starch right on the pillow - *but* I have a layer of craft foam between the pricking and the cotton pillow surface. The foam extends quite a bit past the pricking, just in case, to protect the pillow surface. For the pricking: I make it on quite stiff card, paste the photocopy of the pricking on, and put clear adhesive tape in overlapping layers on the pricking to prevent the photocopy ink from getting damp (then I can use the pricking over again). I don't use the adhesive film because I usually mess up the placement, with wrinkling. On the finished lace, still with most pins in to keep the shape, I dab the starch on with the craft brush - v. cheap nylon brush (I use Moravia but this applies to any stiffener, I should think). When the piece is dry to touch, I take out the pins, push them into one of my wool-stuffed pincushions to clean them (starch doesn't seem to adhere to stainless steel much?) and while the starching is still pliable, bend or shape the piece to suit. There is a buildup of shiny areas of starch on the pricking, which doesn't affect the use :) I tried hairspray, doing the spray into container, dab with a brush method, and don't like the finished effect :( Now what do I do with a nearly full bottle of this hair spray... anyway, hope this else helps On Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 4:18 AM, Sue wrote: I dont want to spray things onto my pillow, so I am expecting to take them off there but could pin them out onto another surface before spraying, pasting, or whatever. Any comments or advise mose welcome. -- Bev in Shirley BC, near Sooke on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of Canada - 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
Re: [lace] Flowers and stiffner
Janice, I mentioned UK for the supply and names really, but its always such a help to get all the different types from so many of you around the world. Thank you for your input, always helpful. I am copying the info onto a word document because I never remember all of them if I dont. It makes very interesting reading later and I can try others to see which I prefer. Again, many thanks, Sue T I know Sue asked for UK suppliers, but I thought I would pass on my experience to anyone. If you have received your new Bulletin, on the inside cover is a Christmas Angel that I designed. I stiffened it with hairspray originally but it went limp (as shown in the photo). I then used undiluted Sta-Flo liquid starch. That also went limp over time. Yesterday I was giving the sample to a friend and I decided to try another stiffener. I got api's Crafter's Pick Fabric Stiffener (cheaper than Stiffy, about $4). I paint my starch on and then blot any excess with paper towel. The instructions said to let it dry so I did not use a hairdryer to speed up the process. It did dry clear but I did not put it on the gold metallic thread just in case it made it dull. I liked the Moravia starch but I think it had a shelf life problem and my second bottle went solid and was undilutable. Janice Janice Blair Crystal Lake, 50 miles northwest of Chicago, Illinois, USA www.jblace.com http://www.lacemakersofillinois.org - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Flowers and stiffner
If your wire gimp is crinkling, then I suggest that it's too fine a wire for the project. Your wire should bend readily but hold it's shape once it is put in place. In the USA, the craft shops carry a package of colored wires for general craft use and this wire works very well in lace flowers. Your craft shops might have a similar wire. I don't know the official gauge of this wire. A firm colored wire can make a nice outside edge of a flower As for stiffening, I use commercial spray starch on my flowers -- whatever I find in the local super market. I pin the lace pieces out on a piece of cardboard covered with plastic wrap or waxed paper, spray, and blot off the excess with paper towel. Let air dry, or use a hair dryer if in a hurry. Starch can be removed with water. It also can attract bugs if stored for long periods. It may need to be resprayed after a few years. Alice in Oregon -- on a wet, cool day, and I plan to stay indoors as much as possible. My lace is calling me. - Original Message From: Sue Subject: [lace] Flowers and stiffner I have finally begun working on a lace flower. ... I decided to use wire as an outside gimp so I could bend leaves into shape rather than have them floppy or use stiffner of another kind but I find the wire crinkles up from time to time. I have smoothed it out gently and its ok, but I am wondering about working with starch, or other kinds of stiffner for other flowers. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] Teneriffe Pillow Question
Here are the two links using tinyurl. http://tinyurl.com/ykdoyn6 http://tinyurl.com/ylez3s3 Thanks for any help you can give. Pat T -- From: "Pat Tinney" Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 10:07 AM To: Subject: [lace] Teneriffe Pillow Question > A friend of mine, and a classmate in my bobbin lace class, found a pillow > labeled pincushion at a Thrift Store. > > We, including our teacher, agree that this appears to be a Teneriffe Pillow, > albeit an unusual one. > > My friend would like to know if anyone is familiar with Teneriffe Pillows > looking like this one? And perhaps why it was made this way? > > I do not know how to post photos on the Arachne site so here are links to > photobucket: > http://s40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/tinneyp/?action=view¤t=teneriffe > pillowsquareside.jpg > http://s40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/tinneyp/?action=view¤t=teneriffe > pillowcircleside.jpg > > Thank you, > Pat T. > > - > 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
[lace] stiffening
Sue Babbs mentioned looking at stiffening methods for City & Guilds - I'm not sure when Sue did her C&G, but I started mine in 1994 and it was still part of the syllabus then. I think the samples I did were around 1995/6, and it has been interesting watching them over the years to see what changes take place... in fact, the only change I've seen has been with a product made by Woolworths under their Winfield brand name to be used as a blind spray (window blinds). This has caused the sample of cotton lace to go black (? a type of mould) on one edge. We used samples of both cotton and synthetic fibres for each of the stiffeners, and also left one pair of samples with no stiffening at all as "control" pieces. We used the blind spray mentioned, spray starch, potato starch (ie water from boiled potatoes), two strengths of sugar solution, hairspray, rice starch and dilute PVA. The samples were then mounted onto a sheet of paper and labelled as to what they were stiffened with. Over the years, I have used it to refer to when deciding how stiff I want something and which stiffener to use. A couple of years ago when I took my class to Pendrell Hall on a weekend course we did the stiffening exercise as a diversion from the concentrated lacemaking on the Saturday afternoon - the only change I made (other than to the PVA solution - see below) was to tell them to write the date on their sheets of paper - one thing we didn't do when we were doing C&G! When I made my Rainbow Choker for Myth or Mystery, my first attempt at stiffening it was using dilute PVA - this filled in all of the holes in the lace and the piece very nearly ended up in the bin! Fortunately it washed out, and I used sugar solution which worked - gave the amount of stiffening I wanted, and didn't form a film between the stitches. You can imagine my surprise when the piece won a Medal of Excellence! It also held its shape whilst hung by one end in the exhibition at Coventry for three months. I then learnt from a friend who is also into trains - he builds models - that the PVA solution needs a drop of detergent (washing up liquid) to break the surface tension - once that is done, it does not fill in the holes... we proved this in the samples we did during our Pendrell weekend. The sampler of stiffeners is one thing I would recommend all lacemakers do - it gives a range of different methods, (use everything you can think of) and you have a handy reference on how the various stiffeners affect lace in your local climate - something we can't tell you! We used machine made cotton and synthetic lace rather than hand made, but it could be a useful way to make use of the samples made (if you make them) before commencing various projects. -- Jane Partridge - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
Re: [lace] stiffening
I started the C& G course around the same time as Jane, but it took a while to complete as the Local Authority closed the initial class, amongst other complications! As well as the stiffeners Jane mentioned, I tried various commercial stiffeners for blinds etc - and still preferred the PVA at the end for effectiveness and the fact that it didn't discolour. I have always applied it carefully and as little as possible to avoid filling in the holes. I will try to remember Jane's tip about detergent to break the surface tension. Interesting idea. I used PVA to stiffen a 3D dragon's spine in 1999, and that is still stiff! Test your threads for colour fastness before applying any colour fastness. One green silk I used became very dark when stiffened - and remained so, which disappointed me. Sue Babbs - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
RE: [lace] Teneriffe Pillow Question
A friend of mine, and a classmate in my bobbin lace class, found a pillow labeled pincushion at a Thrift Store. We, including our teacher, agree that this appears to be a Teneriffe Pillow, albeit an unusual one. My friend would like to know if anyone is familiar with Teneriffe Pillows looking like this one? And perhaps why it was made this way? Here are the two links using tinyurl. http://tinyurl.com/ykdoyn6 http://tinyurl.com/ylez3s3 Thanks for any help you can give. Pat T. === This looks like a homemade Teneriffe cushion and should have worked quite well. Since it is essentially a calibrated pincushion, any square or round Teneriffe motif, with almost any number of points, could be made on it. From the work in progress on the square side, it seems to work quite well. It should still be useable if the filling hasn't deteriorated. Patty - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] Stiffener for lace
Yes, David, I have used the Turps and polystyrene, but not for a long time now. It needs the really expensive turps, (pure distilled?) rather than the ordinary cheap stuff, and small pieces of the polystyrene is dissolved in it. Depending how stiff you want as to how many bits you drop in. I used the cheap stuff! I used it on an ecru tie, and it still works perfectly. I only need to finger smooth it out after wearing it, and the creases disappear. I had to hang it outside for quite a while to get rid of the turps smell though, at the beginning! On a while lace handkie it eventually yellowed a bit, I think - Helen - you know about this! But on the ecru any yellowing does not show!!! :) Regards from Liz in Melbourne, Oz. lizl...@bigpond.com -- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter. We are a community of 6 million users fighting spam. SPAMfighter has removed 503 of my spam emails to date. Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len The Professional version does not have this message - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] Re: Flowers and stiffner
On Oct 21, 2009, at 12:45, Alice Howell wrote: If your wire gimp is crinkling, then I suggest that it's too fine a wire for the project. Your wire should bend readily but hold it's shape once it is put in place. In the USA, the craft shops carry a package of colored wires for general craft use and this wire works very well in lace flowers. Your craft shops might have a similar wire. I don't know the official gauge of this wire. A firm colored wire can make a nice outside edge of a flower An excellent source of all kinds/gauges of craft wire (icluding fine enough to make lace with), in UK: http://www.wires.co.uk/ -- Tamara P Duvallhttp://t-n-lace.net/ Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland) - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
