RE: [lace] Lace joining
Don't ever forget - any one of you - that mistakes in lace are only proof that it has been hand-made. Even if work is perfect, I usually put in a mistake as my proof (not true - I'm joking about trying to make a mistake purposely). But I am serious about the mistakes showing a piece of hand-made work. Has anyone ever seen an absolutely piece of antique furniture - one that has been made prior to the industrial revolution of th mid-1800s? Karen in Malta -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of David in Ballarat Sent: Saturday, January 13, 2007 4:05 AM To: lace@arachne.com Subject: Re: [lace] Lace joining Alice, This week I finished a large motif and found myself holding an extra pair at the final point. No way was I going to undo 50-60 hours of work to find where it was supposed to go. I just threw it back knowing that sooner or later I'd find where the pair was supposed to be. Sure enough, inches away I came up short. I just tied in a new pair at that place and kept going. Only I will know where I did it. This happens to me all the time. I'm so glad I'm not alone. The mistake rarely shows. David in Ballarat - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.410 / Virus Database: 268.16.10/624 - Release Date: 12/01/2007 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.410 / Virus Database: 268.16.10/624 - Release Date: 12/01/2007 - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Lace joining
Karen, not only this Don't ever forget - any one of you - that mistakes in lace are only proof that it has been hand-made. It's a help not become a spider, a real one ;-)) Ilske - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Lace joining
Hello Alice and all Arachneans, there are classes, here in Europe, where you can learn how to Lassen fine laces together. I visited several of them. And there is still another possibility to put them together. You can start such laces with pairs as well and put in the beginning what we call Zauberfaden - magic threads. So you can let the lace on the pillow and end it as you do with thicker threads. Greetings Ilske - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Lace joining
Are these the same magic threads that Christine Springett uses? I keep looking at a piece of Bedforshire lace I started on her course last June. It has some magic threads in, but for the life of me I cannot remember how I did it! I still have two pairs to add, but cannot face doing so, before working out how to add these magic threads. So I keep putting it to one side, and doing something else on a different pillow instead. Can anyone help, please? Agnes Boddington Elloughton UK Ilske Thomsen wrote: Hello Alice and all Arachneans, there are classes, here in Europe, where you can learn how to Lassen fine laces together. I visited several of them. And there is still another possibility to put them together. You can start such laces with pairs as well and put in the beginning what we call Zauberfaden - magic threads. So you can let the lace on the pillow and end it as you do with thicker threads. Greetings Ilske - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Lace joining
Hello Agnes - Christine has just published a new book about Magic Threads! So contact one of your suppliers and get a copy. Her books are well-done, and will probably be just what you need to remember the lessons she taught in your workshop. Clay Clay Blackwell Lynchburg, VA USA Agnes Boddington wrote: Are these the same magic threads that Christine Springett uses? I keep looking at a piece of Bedforshire lace I started on her course last June. It has some magic threads in, but for the life of me I cannot remember how I did it! I still have two pairs to add, but cannot face doing so, before working out how to add these magic threads. So I keep putting it to one side, and doing something else on a different pillow instead. Can anyone help, please? Agnes Boddington Elloughton UK Ilske Thomsen wrote: Hello Alice and all Arachneans, there are classes, here in Europe, where you can learn how to Lassen fine laces together. I visited several of them. And there is still another possibility to put them together. You can start such laces with pairs as well and put in the beginning what we call Zauberfaden - magic threads. So you can let the lace on the pillow and end it as you do with thicker threads. Greetings Ilske - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Lace joining
Hello Agnes, I don't if Are these the same magic threads that Christine Springett uses? this is the same methods, because I don't neither her nor her books. But I thinks. there aren't, as far as I know, several such methods. I try to explaine it to you but you know English Isn't my mother tongue. You lay a silk-thread into the loop of the pair with the bobbin. loop into loop. You lay back the Double silk-thread and work along. When you have finished your lace and come to the beginning you pull out the loop of the silk-thread and lay into this loop the end of the thread from your lace. Than you can pull this end through the beginning loop. If you have done this with all pairs you fix them as you usual do. Hope it's understanding I didn't explain it before only theoreticaly always in practice. Otherwise somebody with an English tongue can help me. Greetings Ilske - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Lace joining - magic thread
Cut a longish piece of thread (12); white is best as it doesn't leave coloured marks on the pin hole as you pull it out! Tie the ends in an overhand knot. Hang the pair(s) on at the pin hole as needed and pass the loop end of your magic thread into the centre of the pair(s) and out under one side. The reason for using the loop end is that this is the equivalent of the hook on a crochet hook and will pull the sewing through from underneath as you finish, in the same way a hook would. Use a pin to hold both the knotted and loop end to the back of the work. Make sure that you haven't pulled the pairs away from the pin as you do this; leave a little slack in the magic thread. As you work around you will need to move the pin and thread out of your way, probably more than once. This is one reason for having a good length magic thread, the other being that it is far less fiddley when you actually use it for the sewing. When you are ready to do the sewing, sort out the appropriate magic thread and make sure it is sliding freely. Put one bobbin of the pair through the loop but don't pull it all the way through; you will find that the bobbin thread will pull through much more easily if the magic thread settles about halfway along the 'leash'. Pull on the knotted end of the magic thread and the bobbin thread will follow through the hole. Snip off the magic thread knot and pull it out of the bobbin thread loop. Pass the other bobbin of the pair through the loop as usual and fasten off as required. I hope I've remembered all the tips I pass on to my students. 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] Lace joining - magic thread
Dear Lacemakers, The magic thread technique Jacquie in Lincolnshire described is illustrated on page 55 of Christine Springett's book: The Torchon Lace Book. I have a friend who learned this technique from Christine and my friend uses magic threads all the time, with beautiful results. She uses sewing threads for this purpose. You can use pastels without a color of fuzz showing in your finished lace when you pull out the threads. Some color contrast makes it easier to avoid hooking into your lace thread. Each individual starting loop gets a magic thread. My friend manages this in an assembly line way. She sits down and prepares her magic threads all at one time. She winds them on a long piece of card so they won't get tangled. She uses a variety of colors - because it helps to keep your place. The way she pins the tails back actually looks pretty. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and 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] Lace joining - magic thread
Many thanks for all your help with the magic thread technique.. I will have another go at my piece of lace, ttrying the methods described to put in the magic threads. I will be going to the Harrogate lace fair in March, and Christine will have a stall there, so I'll buy the book then. Agnes Boddington - Elloughton UK [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Dear Lacemakers, The magic thread technique Jacquie in Lincolnshire described is illustrated on page 55 of Christine Springett's book: The Torchon Lace Book. I have a - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Lace joining, magic threads thanks
With a round of Arachne applause I would like to thank Ilske for the brave effort to explain magic threads. The explanation is correct. It is one of those things that takes a lot of words whereas if someone shows you how, then it is quite simple really. On 1/13/07, Ilske Thomsen [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I try to explaine it to you but you know English Isn't my mother tongue. -- Bev warming up to 0 degrees C. in Sooke BC (on Vancouver Island, 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] Lace Joining
David said The mistake rarely shows. Isn't this the proof that it is Hand made, not machine made?! :)) (All my lace has that proof in it!! :)) ) Regards from Liz in Melbourne, Oz [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Lace Joining
Not necessarily so! I've seen machine laces with mistakes in them. Machine laces are only as good as their designers and programmers (whom I assume are human like me). One way to identify some machine laces is to find a small mistake, and then locate the same mistake in each repeat of the weaving sequence. It's just that with handmade lace, every twist and stitch is made by hand, and the opportunity for an error at some point in the construction is greater. We don't usually make the same mistake on every repeat, however. I am not one of those people who deliberately put a mistake in each product made. Making something without a mistake somewhere in it is a great achievement, and one I can seldom claim. G I was taught to do my best, but the best did not always have to be perfect. Alice in Oregon -- on a quiet but cold day with DH out of the house all day. --- Elizabeth Ligeti [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: David said The mistake rarely shows. Isn't this the proof that it is Hand made, not machine made?! :)) (All my lace has that proof in it!! :)) ) Regards from Liz in Melbourne, Oz [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Lace joining
I'm not Jo, but I've had an interest in this phase of lacemaking. I think it was mentioned by someone else that there are two approaches to joining lace. Laces started with paired bobbins, with threads looped neatly over pins, the end can be sewn into the beginning while the lace is on the pillow. The ends then have to be dealt with -- trim off, weave in, make a rolled edge, etc. Frequently this leaves finishing telltails on the wrong side of the lace. This is fine for laces with a right and wrong side. The other method of joining is the Het Lassen method, which is overlapping the lace and then overcasting the two layers together where the pattern matches. The leftover ends are then trimmed off next to the overcasting. The start and end of the lace do not have to be neat since they are trimmed off. This produces a lace that looks the same on both sides. This is preferred for handkerchiefs and things that might be seen from both sides. This method of joining requires the lace to be off the pillow, and able to be held in the hand. For the overlapping method, extra lace must be made so there is sufficient area of pattern overlap for the joiner to find a pathway that will show the least. I think I was told by one person that at least 2 repeats extra should be made. The overcast joined section will be a bit thicker than the rest of the lace, but will blend in quite well. I can visualize a piece of lace that took years to make -- like a tablecloth edging. The start has been off the pillow a long time. If the end does not have time to relax/shrink for a while, it won't exactly match the beginning. Also, if the person changed tension since starting it, or even changed threads as the initial threads ran out, the stitches might not line up exactly. This could make the joining a bit more challenging. I understand that there used to be ladies who specialized in joining laces. The lacemakers of the village/area would take their projects to this person to do the joining. Some years ago I heard of one lady in Europe still doing this, but she was very elderly. Her joining projects at that time were backlogged at least two years. Since we don't have these specialists available to us, the modern lacemakers must learn to do their own joining. (Anyone want to specialize in joining? You would probably have a lot of customers if the word got out.) Happy lacing, and joining, Alice in Oregon --- Ilske Thomsen [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hello Jo, How will you sew together a Binche or Flandres or the other very fine laces on the pillow? I must take it in my hands, so I have to take it of the pillow. When I saw a lace, like Torchon or Guipure together with a hook thi I am doin on the pillow. Or did I understand in a wrong way? Ilske - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Lace joining
Well, I know that I am going to get plenty of flak for this opinion, but here goes anyway: There comes a point where neatness and carefulness become obsessiveness, and we surely are fluttering about that point now. Yes, the ending threads have to be sewn into the beginning, trimmed off, woven in, etc. But it is possible, with care, to tuck these ends into the work so that they are nearly invisible, by means of a very few tiny stitches taken first forward, then back. One of our most illustrious and celebrated lace teachers* has been known to remark that a minute and tiny detail is not noticed in the larger context of a beautiful piece of lace. Whether the tiny detail is the somewhat thickened texture of the Het Lassen join, or the somewhat simpler edge-seam, who is going to look at the lace and see a nearly invisible and insignificant detail? * Curious? Contact me privately! Aurelia I think it was mentioned by someone else that there are two approaches to joining lace. Laces started with paired bobbins, with threads looped neatly over pins, the end can be sewn into the beginning while the lace is on the pillow. The ends then have to be dealt with -- trim off, weave in, make a rolled edge, etc. Frequently this leaves finishing telltails on the wrong side of the lace. This is fine for laces with a right and wrong side. The other method of joining is the Het Lassen method, which is overlapping the lace and then overcasting the two layers together where the pattern matches. The leftover ends are then trimmed off next to the overcasting. - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Lace joining
Flak??? NO... Agreement! I have said the same thing to my students and to myself. People see the item as a whole piece, and can't imagine how on earth it was made. Only another lacemaker (or a lace judge) will be able to pick out the mistake or joining or whatever. I have to tell on myself. This week I finished a large motif and found myself holding an extra pair at the final point. No way was I going to undo 50-60 hours of work to find where it was supposed to go. I just threw it back knowing that sooner or later I'd find where the pair was supposed to be. Sure enough, inches away I came up short. I just tied in a new pair at that place and kept going. Only I will know where I did it. A multitude of things can be hidden in the design and pattern of a piece of lace. Alice in Oregon --- Aurelia Loveman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Well, I know that I am going to get plenty of flak for this opinion, but here goes anyway: One of our most illustrious and celebrated lace teachers* has been known to remark that a minute and tiny detail is not noticed in the larger context of a beautiful piece of lace. - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Lace joining
Alice, This week I finished a large motif and found myself holding an extra pair at the final point. No way was I going to undo 50-60 hours of work to find where it was supposed to go. I just threw it back knowing that sooner or later I'd find where the pair was supposed to be. Sure enough, inches away I came up short. I just tied in a new pair at that place and kept going. Only I will know where I did it. This happens to me all the time. I'm so glad I'm not alone. The mistake rarely shows. David in Ballarat - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
