Thanks for saying again that it is totally ok to start with whatever lace
pleases your eye. The lacemakers in Valenciennes START with Valenciennes.
etc etc etc. Just do what you love and you will be happy. Most of us start
with Torchon because it contains everything that is in all of the other
laces, and the threads are fat enough to see without a magnifying glass.
From there, they specialize, and add sweet trademark combinations. Once you
get hold of cross and twist, there are NO other options. There are only two
ways to lay a thread over the one next to it, right over left OR left over
right. Look closely and you will see which it is. Make it happen. Poof! you
have lace. ALL of them.
:)Kate Henry
Indiana USA
- Original Message -
From: Adele Shaak [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: Shirlee Hill [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: lace@arachne.com
Sent: Saturday, June 21, 2008 11:48 AM
Subject: Re: [lace] Binche - How Difficult Is It?
Is there a beginner's book for Binche is this lace relatively easy to
learn?
Binche, along with Flanders and other members of the same family, uses
working methods that don't usually arise in the other laces you
mention. Pairs can be workers one minute, passives the next. The method
of working is irregular, and sometimes your pairs may even travel back
up the lace. You often tension by pulling one pair against others that
you have held down, but there may not be pins for you to tension
against. Someone from this list once described the thread diagram as
psychotic railroad tracks - a description I've always enjoyed.
Interestingly, there aren't any difficult new techniques - these laces
are made with the skills you already have, but -
when you enter this world you may find some 'rules' you've learned
about making lace don't apply any more, and that can be a very
difficult and frustrating experience.
The first time I tried a lace in this family (after nearly 20 years of
lacemaking experience) I was on my own with a book, and after several
hours of concentrated effort I broke down in tears. Eventually I found
a teacher. My first beginner piece was a half inch wide and required
only 25 pairs. The first repeat of that lace (about an inch and a half)
took me 8 hours (!) (the second 5 hours, and third 2 hours).
Now I've made these types of laces for a few years, and I still
couldn't make one without following a diagram.
So, that's why people will tell you Binche is difficult. For most
people it really is. But I find it totally absorbing and rewarding to
make.
Beginner books are few. There is a Syllabus Binche series from the
Kantcentrum in Belgium. They start you off by working various grounds
of snowflakes. Way back in 1989 Michael Giusiana Linda Dunn put out a
book Binche lace that, after a brief review of other laces in the
family (Flanders, Point de Paris, Valenciennes), again leads you into
Binche via snowflakes. Personally I found making snowflake ground quite
tedious, and not exceptionally good at preparing you for Binche, and I
stopped after the first two samples. (by the way, it was Binche with
Valenciennes Ground from that book that took me 8 hours for the first
repeat)
Many people recommend starting out with Flanders, so you get used to
the ring pairs and the method of working cloth stitch fillings while
working what many consider to be an easier lace. There are more
beginner Flanders books (I think Mary Niven's book is still available)
than beginner Binche books.
Other people say doing Flanders to prepare you for Binche is a little
like learning to ski to prepare you for snowboarding. Why not just
learn to snowboard in the first place.
Reading this over, I can't help thinking it isn't very helpful. The
truth is, these are hard laces to make, and due to their structure
there aren't that many beginner patterns.
Hope this helps somehow.
Adele
North Vancouver, BC
(west coast of Canada)
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