Hello All! Thanks to all who explained the value of Torchon in the lace
learning process! AND for allowing that there are alternative places to
start!! Just wish I'd had those options available. Hope the IOLI gathering is
a great success that everyone has a good time while learning
We start students with Torchon because it is very basic. The students learn
the main three stitch formations, then learn to change from one to another in a
pattern. Expand that to include formations like diamonds, spiders, adding
gimp, fans, picots then they have a fairly good foundation
Lyn wrote:
I know of no book that teaches bobbin lace by starting anywhere than
with what is considered Torchon. It's simplest, and with Torchon under your
belt, you can go a long way.
In some ways torchon isn't the simplest because, being so geometric, every
mistake stands out, unlike many
Doreen Wright's Bobbin Lacemaking starts with point ground. Also various books
about Honiton, Flanders etc start with the basics of that type of lace.
I know of no book that teaches bobbin lace by starting anywhere than
with what is considered Torchon.
Brenda in Allhallows
How to start learning lacemaking belongs where you live and what the different
teachers think it would be the right.
I know people which started without any lace-type in mind of the teacher. Other
with braid lace or Torchon. In the Netherlands I knew people starting with
Point Ground lace or
My lace teacher/mentor of 20+ years, started her lace journey with
Honiton!!! I started with Torchon but one of my students wanted to make
lace pictures from the very beginning and she is only working in
Milanese. So, as Ilske said, it depends on what one wants to do in lace
and also
Susan
I think most bobbin lace students start with torchon because it is easy and
contains most of the principles of working straight laces. However I believe
that tape lace (braid lace) or Beds or Cluny are also reasonable places to
start and I give my students a choice. I show them samples of
Can anyone shed any light on Geraldine Stott's method of staring a Torchon
bookmark, as described in The Bobbin Lace Manual? The description is a
bit vague, and I've tried a couple of different interpretations, but
they're clearly both wrong.
If anyone can clarify what she means, I'd be very
Dear Annette,
I'm looking at the diagram on page 49 - the first bookmark pattern. The large
numbers near dots with circles around them indicate the number of pairs to be
hung on these pins. They're temporary pins, which means that after used these
pairs to work a stitch, you take the temporary
