Re: [lace] photos
Have to chime in here. That photographer is LAZY and can't be bothered to get the attribution. There's really no excuse in this age of digital photography when we no longer pay for every frame we shoot. All he has to do is take a clear photo of a tag or business card or label. A couple years ago I photographed Anna, a Polish lacemaker, at an international arts crafts fair in Jerusalem (she photographed me, too; I just found my picture in one of her albums). http://www.flickr.com/photos/spindexr/2783769732/ I also photographed her business card among her laces and was able to put her name on the description of the photo. Eventually she found the photo and wrote to me about herself via my Flickr account. Then a few months ago she found me on Facebook and friended me. If he were really interested in lace, you'd think he would make an effort to document his photos. Avital Blog: http://apinnick.wordpress.com Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spindexr On Mon, Feb 22, 2010 at 10:45 PM, Lorelei Halley lhal...@bytemeusa.com wrote: I do understand the problem that Ilske refers to. There is a photographer who has a flickr account and posts lots and lots of photos he takes at lace exhibitions in Europe. He never gives attributions. I've pointedly asked him in a few cases who made or designed the laces and he seems to think it is asking too much, that he shouldn't be expected to notice the name of the contributor. My plan with him is that every time I see him post a new photo, I'm going to ask who made it and designed it. Eventually it may get through to him that he needs to record that information. I have not written to flickr to make a formal complaint, because, frankly I do want to see his pictures. He allows me to see laces I would never know about otherwise. I just want to educate this guy about his moral responsibilities. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] Rescued Laces
Hello all, I was so excited to get this find this past weekend while browsing through a flea market. We do our usual perusing through baskets full of lace at our usual haunts hoping to stock our lace supply for several projects we work on. Occasionally we run across some really nice samples and I use them for my display and keep them safe. This is just the case. I believe this is a Bedfordshire style lace with leaf tallies over half stitch ground. The length of this edging is 54 inches. Really like this pattern! http://www.tat-man.net/bobbinburg/BLgallery/Rescued_Beds_tally_lace.jpg I believe this one is a Torchon style lace. The length of this edging is 42 inches. http://www.tat-man.net/bobbinburg/BLgallery/Rescued_Beds_scallop_lace.jpg Here is my assessment of the lace we found. I believe they are handmade because of the way the tallies are treated and there are loose ends. I do see some visible mistakes. The two ends of the laces are hand stitched over on itself, which makes me believe they were attached to some article and later removed. There are some offwhite course threads in the footside to justify this. It is very fragile. There were some loose threads in spots like the lacemaker forgot to trim or thread the ends in. So I tested one of those loose ends. It feels like a silk thread. It is 65 wraps per inch(25 wraps per cm). It easily breaks and when you roll the thread between the fingers it disintegrates into dust. Not good! So I have to take extra care when handling. The thread seems really dry to the touch. Best solution to help strengthen the lace??? Throw in the freezer??? Correct me if I am wrong on any parts of this review. I would like your opinions. I hope the pictures are large enough(hopefully not too large to download!) If you happen to recognize the patterns of these edgings that would be great! I do like the patterns a lot that I am considering drafting it out into a pricking. I have done this before. I use Adobe Illustrator and true up the angles so there aren't any inconsistences. If I do draft the patterns I would gladly share them. Of course if you happen to find the author of the patterns then that saves me the trouble ;) Glad I can share this with you! Mark, aka Tatman (who is going to go through his photos on his website and embed a watermark and state the copyright on them. LOTS OF WORK!) website: http://www.tat-man.net blog: http://tatmantats.wordpress.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] Rescued Laces
Hello Mark. Your second lace is not torchon, but guipur lace. The pattern is very similar to some of the patterns included in the book La guipur du Puy (France): these S shaped tapes (which are not worked as the tape laces) filled with a diamond in half stitch, and the foot side, worked with crossed workers... very typical of this lace of Le Puy. I can send you a scanned image of the lace I am telling you, so that you can see the similarity. I really liked your sharing of this find. Best regards Antje, in Spain. - 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] Rescued Laces
Nice find, Mark. I agree with the first one -- Beds. However the second one is not Torchon. Torchon is worked on a 45 degree grid foundation. Since it looks like the same scale and thread as the first one, it could be a Beds variation.I know I've seen some similar patterns in some of my books but at this moment, I can't find them. I only had a few minutes to search. So...it's not Torchon but I can't name it right now. Perhaps someone else has a better memory. Alice in Oregon -- raining again after several nice days of sun - Original Message Bedfordshire style lace with leaf tallies over half stitch ground. The length of this edging is 54 inches. Really like this pattern! http://www.tat-man.net/bobbinburg/BLgallery/Rescued_Beds_tally_lace.jpg I believe this one is a Torchon style lace. The length of this edging is 42 inches. http://www.tat-man.net/bobbinburg/BLgallery/Rescued_Beds_scallop_lace.jpg - 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] Rescued Laces
Hello Mark, nice found, congratulation. The first one is Beds-atyle but the second one is Guipure not Torchon. Very typical as they made Guipure in Le Puy with the s-shaped tape and and the diamonds in halfstitch and very typical the foot side. Thanks for sharing. Ilske - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] photo
Avital I'm tempted to copy your whole email and send it to him. Or maybe just extract the most important part. I don't want him to feel attacked, as that will just produce a defensive response, with no movement. I have to think about a tactful, non-threatening way to say it. Lorelei - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] Tatman's lace
Mark The first one is definitely Bedfordshire and very interesting. I saw black and initially though LePuy. But the subsidiary trails are definitely Beds style. Some of the half stitch areas are a bit odd. Black lace is so difficult to photograph. I've tried it against a red background and that was not better. Lorelei - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] lace
Mark I agree with Antje about the 2nd one. There is a certain kind of Danish design which Doris Southard called King Christian, and it has a cloth trail with a structure similar to this one. I've always wondered where the King Christian designs came from. Were they part of a general idea floating around at a particular time and adopted in 2 different countries, or was it French and borrowed by the Danes. LePuy guipure would be the best name for your piece. Lorelei - 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: rescued laces
Hi Mark, 2 nice pieces of lace :-) I envy you. The first does look to be Beds, the second one I think is probably more of what we think of as Le Puy. I think Fouriscot has several Le Puy books out and there maybe something vaguely similar in terms of a pattern in there. Both are plaited laces. Not sure I know enough to suggest conservation of the laces, but I'm sure there are Arachneans out there who are more knowledgeable than me. Black dyes were/are notoriously harsh, so black lace tends to be more fragile. Cheers, Helen in Duvall, WA - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] King Christian
Mark The defining element of the King Christian type of design is the snaking trail, typically in the shape it has in your lace. The trail is worked in the Cluny manner, not the Beds manner: pairs enter and pass through the trail, instead of being stored in the trail. There is usually a cloth or half stitch spot filling the area inside the trail, just like yous. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures. I do have Doris Southard's book, the hardcover first edition. And she does have a photo on page 192. There are several versions of the design. I've been meaning to work one for 30 years and just never got around to it. Lorelei - 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: King Christian
AH! OK. I have Doris' book and have worked just a bit on this type of snaking trail effect with my lessons. Will have to look on the page you referenced. Thanks for the explanations. So fun to chat and research about all this :) -- Mark, aka Tatman website: http://www.tat-man.net blog: http://tatmantats.wordpress.com etsy shop: http://tatman.etsy.com FB: http://www.facebook.com/tatmantats Mark The defining element of the King Christian type of design is the snaking trail, typically in the shape it has in your lace. The trail is worked in the Cluny manner, not the Beds manner: pairs enter and pass through the trail, instead of being stored in the trail. There is usually a cloth or half stitch spot filling the area inside the trail, just like yous. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures. I do have Doris Southard's book, the hardcover first edition. And she does have a photo on page 192. There are several versions of the design. I've been meaning to work one for 30 years and just never got around to it. Lorelei - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] Le Puy - was Rescued Laces
Hello Mark I agree with others that the first one http://www.tat-man.net/bobbinburg/BLgallery/Rescued_Beds_tally_lace.jpg looks to be Bedfordshire - I won't say Beds-Maltese because it's not geometrical enough. The second one http://www.tat-man.net/bobbinburg/BLgallery/Rescued_Beds_scallop_lace.jpg is Le Puy. I have several bits of plaited black BL in my collection. Some time ago I spent a lot of time with Pat Earnshaw's and other books to properly ID them, and tI have listed all but the narrowest piece as Le Puy; partly because of the black colour partly because of the distinctive trails and sometimes lots of leaf shaped tallies and mainly because of the elaborate plaited grounds ie Guipure. In style they are all not dissimilar to your piece. According to Earnshaw a lot of black 'Le Puy' was made in France in the second half of the 19th century, and a lot of Le Puy/Clunytype of plaited laces were also made in England at the same time, some indistinguishable from the French. The lace school at Le Puy re-opened in the 1970s under Mick Fouriscot and I believe they teach a variety of styles of BL. There are a number of pattern books co-written by various people with Mme Fouriscot for various types of BL. Brenda in Allhallows paternos...@appleshack.com http://paternoster.orpheusweb.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
[lace] lace talk
Mark So fun to chat and research about all this :) This is what I value about arachne. Many people add their little bit to the story, and it soon becomes the large picture. Lorelei - 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] Finally finished a shawl
How do I find a pattern for the lacey Orenburg shawls? Becca Did you see the photos of the real Orenburg shawls that my officemate's grandmother has? They're not the museum pieces that one finds in books but still, they were interesting to examine closely. http://apinnick.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/orenburg-shawls/ - 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] Finally finished a shawl
Yes, Avital, I was referring to the medallion shawl in the Gossamer Webs Design Collection. She warns you up front that it is hard but that once you truly understand the method of the Russian patterns you can intuit the rest. I pretty much do understand the method and the patterns and no they are never symmetrical. You can not take half and then mirror the other half...You can in many European laces (like Shetland etc) but not the Russian. They always have an extra stitch either on the left inside border or on left or right side of the center. I have chronic pain syndrome due to an old accident and am on hefty pain meds. It makes it hard for me to focus and my memory gets funny very quickly...When I started my shawl, I decided to mirror the first 3 repeats, to make it less frustrating. I divided the shawl up with stitch markers into equal sections of 24 stitches with 25 stitches on the right side center (the center marked with a different color stitch marker) Both inner borders are 16 stitches and the outer border is what it is. Now I look at it and it looks great to others but I know that the stitches are not correct in the mirror image sections. It bothers the heck out of me, I can be very critical of my work. So, I am charting since I can't just gather it all in my head and retain it through the whole line...I think I have it then my mind lets go of it (dang short memory) So...I will chart that left side the way it should be (and yeah it will be MY interpretation of the left side) When I get it done...if your interested in trying it my way I can send you my left side charts. I am not sure how neat I will be or anything but I will be working in pencil at first so I can change things. I am on row 130 of my shawl already and will need to frog a major portion of this (probably everything down to the inner border.) I also found a few major errors in the charts in the book. Off the top of my head I can't tell you what or what patterns the errors were in. I have yet to inform Galina (I have her email address but she and her husband travel a LOT to do seminars etc on Orenburg lace) I will send her an email and find out if she is interested in my corrections or not. I did get the original book she put out. Gossamer Webs: the History and Techniques of Orenburg Lace Shawls. It has a large square shawl in it that isn't a medallion but it has the complete chart. It is out of print but it can be purchased from private sellers either new or used (very expensive) My copy cost me over $60.00. I will share the errors with you as soon as I can make them understandable to others. My way of notation and correction can be messy and illegible to others sometimes (yeah I work with photo copies of my charts so I can scribble) Yes I saw your picture's of your friends Grandmother's shawls...they were lovely. I am especially intrigued by the clustered stitches in the center of the diamonds. I am wondering if it is similar to the Neps in the Estonian shawls. (Neps are very very hard to do though quite beautiful) I am using lacey lamb by Jade Creations for the gossamer shawls and kid/Moreno for the warm shawls. (that way you get that fuzzy halo that the warm shawls have from the goat down) I think I used baby alpaca for the triangular shawl I completed (it is just a tad heavier than the lacey lamb)Nothing I have done has been stretched out yet and yeah I agree with you about the corners being a tad tight... I, like you, find the Russian graft method challenging...I found a much better explanation in a pattern of Galina's that was printed in Piecework Magazine. My sis brought it to show me and I copied the better explanation and will use it next time I graft again. I know that I did it wrong but what I did worked satisfactorily. If you want to chat more about the shawls, we can do it off list if this is OT...? Cearbhael - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] Mark's lace
The LePuy lessons do have a version of the King Christian design with a pattern. There were sets of lessons and patterns printed on orange card, and Lacis used to sell them. But a photo of a similar design appears on page 17 of DENTELLE AU FUSEAU, DENTELLE DU PUY by Fouriscot, Petiot, Jourde jourde, 1982. There is another version in Meta Tonder 33 TONDER KNIPLINGER, 1952, page 97. Lorelei - 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] Finally finished a shawl
Dear Avital and Cearbhael, I am enjoying your discussion of the shawls! Please don't take it private! I think knitted lace is as relevant to this list as tatting or needle lace, and it is something that I enjoy quite a bit. I completed one of the shawls in Nancy Bush's Estonian Lace Shawls book, and it's lovely! It wasn't easy, but it wasn't as difficult as Russian lace. One rather haughty woman announced rather loudly that it wasn't really knitted lace, and I emphatically corrected her, saying she had insulted a fine tradition in Estonia. It isn't Russian or Shetland, it's Estonian. They're all fine (and different) traditions. Clay On 2/23/2010 5:04 PM, cearbh...@mywdo.com wrote: Yes, Avital, I was referring to the medallion shawl in the Gossamer Webs Design Collection. She warns you up front that it is hard but that once you truly understand the method of the Russian patterns you can intuit the rest. I pretty much do understand the method and the patterns and no they are never symmetrical. You can not take half and then mirror the other half...You can in many European laces (like Shetland etc) but not the Russian. They always have an extra stitch either on the left inside border or on left or right side of the center. I have chronic pain syndrome due to an old accident and am on hefty pain meds. It makes it hard for me to focus and my memory gets funny very quickly...When I started my shawl, I decided to mirror the first 3 repeats, to make it less frustrating. I divided the shawl up with stitch markers into equal sections of 24 stitches with 25 stitches on the right side center (the center marked with a different color stitch marker) Both inner borders are 16 stitches and the outer border is what it is. Now I look at it and it looks great to others but I know that the stitches are not correct in the mirror image sections. It bothers the heck out of me, I can be very critical of my work. So, I am charting since I can't just gather it all in my head and retain it through the whole line...I think I have it then my mind lets go of it (dang short memory) So...I will chart that left side the way it should be (and yeah it will be MY interpretation of the left side) When I get it done...if your interested in trying it my way I can send you my left side charts. I am not sure how neat I will be or anything but I will be working in pencil at first so I can change things. I am on row 130 of my shawl already and will need to frog a major portion of this (probably everything down to the inner border.) I also found a few major errors in the charts in the book. Off the top of my head I can't tell you what or what patterns the errors were in. I have yet to inform Galina (I have her email address but she and her husband travel a LOT to do seminars etc on Orenburg lace) I will send her an email and find out if she is interested in my corrections or not. I did get the original book she put out. Gossamer Webs: the History and Techniques of Orenburg Lace Shawls. It has a large square shawl in it that isn't a medallion but it has the complete chart. It is out of print but it can be purchased from private sellers either new or used (very expensive) My copy cost me over $60.00. I will share the errors with you as soon as I can make them understandable to others. My way of notation and correction can be messy and illegible to others sometimes (yeah I work with photo copies of my charts so I can scribble) Yes I saw your picture's of your friends Grandmother's shawls...they were lovely. I am especially intrigued by the clustered stitches in the center of the diamonds. I am wondering if it is similar to the Neps in the Estonian shawls. (Neps are very very hard to do though quite beautiful) I am using lacey lamb by Jade Creations for the gossamer shawls and kid/Moreno for the warm shawls. (that way you get that fuzzy halo that the warm shawls have from the goat down) I think I used baby alpaca for the triangular shawl I completed (it is just a tad heavier than the lacey lamb)Nothing I have done has been stretched out yet and yeah I agree with you about the corners being a tad tight... I, like you, find the Russian graft method challenging...I found a much better explanation in a pattern of Galina's that was printed in Piecework Magazine. My sis brought it to show me and I copied the better explanation and will use it next time I graft again. I know that I did it wrong but what I did worked satisfactorily. If you want to chat more about the shawls, we can do it off list if this is OT...? Cearbhael - 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] fiber festival
Hello All! I just received my brochure for the 15th annual Great Lakes Fiber Festival wanted to share the info. NO relation to the show sale, just a satisfied participant in previous classes, customer at the booths, consumer of the roast lamb sandwiches (heaven!!). The show is always at the Wayne Co. fairgrounds in Wooster, OH held on Memorial Day weekend, Sat/Sun May 29th/30th this year. Lots of stuff for spinners, weavers, knitters, felters, dyers, lucette-ers etc. Some vendors offer breed specific yarns as well as roving; I noticed Wensleydale wool will be offered this year. Also, one of the workshops is on spinning 3 types of Leicester, one suitable for fine lace. Hope this helps if you live within reasonable distance. www.greatlakesfibershow.com for more info or contact me off list. Susan, in Erie, where it is snowing yet again - 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] Finally finished a shawl
I'm another who is enjoying the lace shawl discussion and hope it will continue here. Haven't decided on my next lace shawl, but an leaning much. Thanks, Norma (in VA) http://normasneedlez.blogspot.com http://sistersstitching.blogspot.com NATA #847 Your worth consists in what you are and not in what you have. - 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] Finally finished a shawl
I'm another who is enjoying the lace shawl discussion and hope it will continue here. Me too! Especially as I was given Nancy Bush's Estonian Lace Shawls book for Christmas 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] Finally finished a shawl
Go back to the blog posting and scroll all the way down to the end, just before the comments. There are links to both Galina's books. Avital On Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 12:02 AM, laceviolins...@comcast.net wrote: How do I find a pattern for the lacey Orenburg shawls? Becca Did you see the photos of the real Orenburg shawls that my officemate's grandmother has? They're not the museum pieces that one finds in books but still, they were interesting to examine closely. http://apinnick.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/orenburg-shawls/ - 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] Finally finished a shawl
On Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 12:04 AM, cearbh...@mywdo.com wrote: quickly...When I started my shawl, I decided to mirror the first 3 repeats, to make it less frustrating. I divided the shawl up with stitch markers into equal sections of 24 stitches with 25 stitches on the right side center (the center marked with a different color stitch marker) Both inner borders are It sounds as though the problem may have been your setting up the markers with an equal number of stitches. The patterns always have an uneven number, so that won't work. critical of my work. So, I am charting since I can't just gather it all in my head and retain it through the whole line...I think I have it then my mind lets go of it (dang short memory) So...I will chart that left side the way it should be (and yeah it will be MY interpretation of the left side) When I get it done...if your interested in trying it my way I can send you my left side charts. I am not sure how neat I will be or anything but I Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll be able to manage. I have a good memory for long strings of symbols (hey--I'm a tech writer and all that code documentation has to be good for something!) ;-) what or what patterns the errors were in. I have yet to inform Galina (I have her email address but she and her husband travel a LOT to do seminars etc on Orenburg lace) I will send her an email and find out if she is interested in my corrections or not. I did get the original book she put You can always try but she's not good at answering emails... I know there are errors but so far I haven't found anything too serious. The chart for the triangular shawl seemed one row out of synch with the border in the last rows, but it wasn't too difficult to fix. out. Gossamer Webs: the History and Techniques of Orenburg Lace Shawls. It has a large square shawl in it that isn't a medallion but it has the complete chart. It is out of print but it can be purchased from private sellers either new or used (very expensive) My copy cost me over $60.00. I $60?! Wow. You mean for the whole book, not the chart alone? I'm glad I bought it when it was in print. Actually, the square shawl (called Eastern Star or something like that) is really a rectangle. When I noticed that, I lost all interest in making it. I know that sounds strange but it disturbs my sense of symmetry. Yes I saw your picture's of your friends Grandmother's shawls...they were lovely. I am especially intrigued by the clustered stitches in the center of the diamonds. I am wondering if it is similar to the Neps in the Estonian shawls. (Neps are very very hard to do though quite beautiful) I am using Yes, the stitch clusters are similar to the neps in Estonian shawls. (And, yes, neps are tough to do. I find it requires a verrry loose tension so that the working yarn will pass through all those stitches. Russians seem to work with extremely loose tension.) A friend who's interested in Russian lace-knitting thinks that some of those stitch patterns spread past their areas of origin through shared patterns, etc., so one finds Estonian motifs in Orenburg. People do move around. That particular shawl was knitted by a friend of Masha's grandmother, so it's anyone's guess where the knitter came from or where she got her pattern. Masha's grandmother was born in St. Petersburg and moved to Orenburg when her husband got a job installing the phone line between the two places. She's still alive, BTW, although her husband died some time ago. Avital -- Blog: http://apinnick.wordpress.com Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spindexr - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] Shredding threads
Hi Susan Thank you for the information, Alex! Do you have recommendations for fabrics, please, as something like satin would be too slick, so perhaps a fine Egyptian cotton, etc.? Go by feel rather than name. The fabric needs to be smooth. I use the very ordinary fine polyester cotton. Traditionally cotton is recommended, but again find a fine fabric with a smooth finish, if you can get fine Egyptian cotton in a dark colour it will be ideal. Personally I would not choose satin. I think the shine would bother me, but there is no reason why not, and being slick it may resolve the problem. However, you would have to find a fine one. As with any cover cloth fabric the fold should not be bulky as this may be suffucient to bring the fabric into closer contact with the threads and cause them to wear. I hope this answers everything, if not let me know and let me know how you get on. Happy lacemaking (without broken threads) Alex - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
[lace] More thoughts on cover cloths
In a message dated 24/02/2010 06:47:18 GMT Standard Time, alexstillw...@talktalk.net writes:Personally I would not choose satin. I think the shine would bother me, but there is no reason why not,.. I can think of a reason why not. The way satin is woven is by having long floats on the front face of the fabric, so the threads catch the light. Those floats won't be as hard wearing as a usual one under, one over weave. Although it might be ok to use when new, tiny filaments of thread could start to wear and break off more quickly and easily than on other weaves. The reason I was given to use cotton rather than poly cotton fabric for cloths was that the static from the poly cotton in some way weakens the thread. I am not at all convinced by that as I don't have problems with threads breaking, and have mostly used poly cotton because as Alex said, dark plain cotton fabric is very hard to find. But it is possible that the same static could attract more dust, fibres and hairs to the cloth What is more important I think is that the fabric is thin, the cloths are big enough to go right to the edges of the pillow and that there are no bulky hems - just tear the fabric into squares, pull off loose threads and washing machine it a couple of times. It rarely frays after that. After folding under a couple of inches and creasing it well, pin it drum tight across the pillow so that bobbins can slide over the edge without catching and so there is no bulky edge rubbing on the threads. Keep a couple of flat-headed heavy, steel pins on your pillow to do this with; brass lace pins aren't strong enough. Pin low down on one edge, with the point of the pin angled up, stretch the cloth really tightly across the pillow, and pin low down on the other side, again angling the pin. The pins should be quite hard to remove if the cloth is tight enough :-) If the cloth is too bulky, or not pinned tightly (or even at all!), not only will it stress the thread, it will also easily transfer tiny dark filaments to your lace as the threads are rubbed back and forth across the sticky-up edge. Also don't forget to wash them after every piece of lace, not only to remove hand oils but to wash off dust and other detritus. One of the pleasures to me of starting a new piece of lace is dressing the pillow with a clean, crisply ironed cover cloth. Like getting into bed on clean sheets day. Jacquie in Lincolnshire - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
