Dear Karen,
You are wise to express concerns about the fragile nature of this lace.
Have you looked at the correspondence about Carrickmacross in our digest?
http://www.mail-archive.com/lace@arachne.com/index.html
Put Carrickmacross in the search box, and read a lot we have said through
the years. For those interested in books, put Carrickmacross 8/23/2010 in
the search box to read a list from me.
Proper supplies and technique are important to ensuring a long life for
your laces. Then comes care. To a one-piece Carrickmacross collar, open in
front, I added pops (small circles of buttonhole stitches) where I wanted
to use a cameo pin. Then, I cut a piece of bias-woven white lawn tape to a
size that would be hidden by the cameo and marked where I wanted my pin to
go in and out of the tape. Insert pin in one pop, then into tape and up
again through tape into other pop, and close pin. The hidden tape holds the
weight of a small cameo. Collar will rest in place, without being pinned
into your garment. I made a Summer dress for just this collar to rest on,
so no neck oil would stain it. Another collar solution is to make fabric
tabs or thread loops and attach them with stitches at the front of a lace
collar. Pin into the tabs or loops. Never pin directly into lace!!! A
third
possibility (for tape lace collars) is to thread a grosgrain ribbon (it
has no wrong side) through openings in the two sides and tie in a bow. Use
more ribbon than you think you need. A large looped bow looks wonderful
with large Battenburg tape lace collars. Another possibility is to baste a
collar directly on a dress. Stitch in the holes, not in the lace threads.
Test dark colored dresses, as some will discolor or transfer fibers to the
underside of lace. Be especially careful of denim, because dyes rest on
the tightly-woven surface and rub off on light colors.
Those of us who have been hand washing laces for 50 years must remember
that new lace makers are accustomed to easy-care fabrics and whatever water
comes out the pipes, combined with strong detergents, in machines that churn
whatever is placed in them.
A conservator will tell you that Carrickmacross is fragile, and must be
handled carefully in the wash. A clean white enamel basin is best - look
for one at yard sales, since everything now available seems to be plastic.
Mine is oval, with inside measures of 16 x 12 1/2. Paint nail polish over
any chipped enamel, to avoid rust stains. Basin should be very clean;
detergents wiped away with white vinegar on a cloth.
Wash Carrickmacross alone (no additional pieces) in 1 inch of room
temperature distilled water with a little Orvus soap which you prepare before
floating lace in it. If you do not have a delicate touch, sandwich lace
between two layers of soft net (not the scratchy kind) and baste around lace
item
to keep it from shifting in this envelope. This will resist most of the
effects of gravity and water weight. Do not agitate. Do not scrub. Let
lace soak a few hours if there are stains, so the fibers can expand and
stains can detach. Hold piece flat to bottom of basin and pour off dirty
water.
To rinse, pour fresh distilled water in from the side of basin, not
directly on lace. Repeat. Pour final rinse water away. Sometimes wet lace
looks dingy, but it has a way of drying clean. Roll out of basin on a soft
towel with no texture to catch in lace picots. Blot. Lay on a clean surface
(pre-wiped with white vinegar) to dry. Shape piece for drying, but do not
pull in any direction. You can finger press, and warmth of your fingers
will hasten drying. Press carefully with an iron, preferably no warmer than
your hand can tolerate. Don't let iron point get caught in the picots. A
damp light weight pressing cloth may be helpful.
Sounds like a lot of work, but you must remember how much more time was
spent making your Carrickmacross lace, and how long it would take to replace
it.
It is best to consider what will be easiest to care for before tackling
something like a collar that will be soiled by skin oil combined by whatever
dust or sand is floating around and will attach itself to the oil. For a
collar, my recommendation is to design a pattern to fit a garment, so it can
be basted on the garment. That way, the skin oil issue - on lace - is
avoided. Be patient when removing basting threads for lace storage or wet
cleaning, so no knots are pulled through the lace. One must avoid activities
and jewelry (dangling earrings, charm bracelets, pronged rings) that might
catch in the picots (which are much larger and more open than in other
types of laces). Be careful when adding and removing a sweater, jacket or
coat, because the texture and your movements may injure the lace. Watch
where
your car's seat belt is dragging over your shoulder.
Sorry. This is a fragile lace. It needs more caution than most.
Please save this memo in your
