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My sources have been books , an Internet mailing
list , Arachne, and the suppliers of lacemaking equipment without
whom nothing would be possible. Further inspiration has come from
following links to lacemakers' web pages all
over the world. |
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| There
are introductory books to suit every taste, both in the type of lace
they cover and in style. Most of these are still in print but you
should in any case be able to get a copy through your local library
or from a second hand bookshop. The comments are as a result of my
own personal experience and cover only a limited selection. There
are further details of books on sites in the mailing
list and links sections. |
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| The
book I began with is The Technique of Bobbin Lace
by Pamela Nottingham, first published 1976, B T Batsford Ltd, ISBN
0 7134 3230 6 (Hardback), now in a revised Paperback edition, Dover
Publications, 1996, ISBN: 0 4862 9205 3. The book is divided
into sections for three main types of lace, Torchon, Bedfordshire
and Bucks Point and covers everything from the most elementary beginnings
to advanced work. It is a very substantial work, full of photographs
of finished pieces of lace, many prickings that can be traced and
text that explains the technique of Bobbin Lace very clearly. The
approach in which everything is described in words, supplemented by
excellent diagrams, is one that I found ideal for me. |
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| The
Torchon Lace Workbook by Bridget M. Cook, first published
1988, B T Batsford Ltd, ISBN 0 7134 5740 6, explains how the stitches
are made through the use of coloured diagrams, which suits people
who respond to a more visual approach more easily than I do. It contains
some lovely designs many of which I have made. The Hearts
and Flowers Cloth was worked from a pattern in this book. |
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| The
Bobbin Lace Manual by Geraldine Stott, first published 1988,
B T Batsford Ltd, ISBN 0 7134 5511 X is an introduction to the basic
elements of several types of lace, structured through cleverly chosen
small projects of increasing difficulty. The Torchon
Bookmark and the pattern for the Torchon
Flowers were taken from this book. Again the emphasis is on a
diagrammatic explanation of each piece of work. |
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| Bucks
Point Lacemaking by Pamela Nottingham, first published 1985,
B T Batsford Ltd, ISBN 0 7134 2234 3 is a great source of traditional
Bucks Point designs, many of which have been adapted to suit a modern
lacemaker whilst retaining a strong sense of the original spirit.
The cottage workers who made Bucks Point worked lengths of lace made
up of endless repeats; today most people prefer to make smaller self-contained
projects. The six-sided motif and the oval
motif were worked from this book. |
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| Practical
Skills in Bobbin Lace by Bridget M Cook, first published
in 1987, B T Batsford Ltd, ISBN 0 7134 4366 9 is an absolutely indispensable
book for anyone who has tried bobbin lace and knows that they are
hooked on it. It is a reference book rather than a manual, and one
that will last the lacemaker a lifetime of different styles and techniques.
It covers every conceivable variation of starts and edges, adding
pairs, picots, braids, corners, gimps, endings and much more. The
single-colour diagrams, beautifully drawn, with their accompanying
text provide the clearest possible description of every technique
the lacemaker might want to use. |
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| Arachne
is a flourishing Internet mailing list which began in 1995 and which
has members from all over the lacemaking world. All types of lace
are discussed here, including tatting and needlelace, but the predominant
topic for discussion tends to be Bobbin Lace. |
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are in fact two Arachne lists, the lace list which, whilst being extremely
friendly, is also very disciplined about keeping on the topic of lace,
and the lace-chat list, on which lacemakers can talk about anything
they like. Both are available in a digest form, where messages are
sent out in batches, or as a reflected list where each member gets
each message to the list singly. |
| Details
of how to subscribe to this mailing list can be found at arachne.com
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| The
Lacemakers'
FAQ contains a wealth of material. |
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I was inspired to start making lace by seeing a pillow with a piece
of lace in progress displayed in the window of my favourite embroidery
shop. I bought a book, the cheapest of pillows, some coarse beginners'
bobbins, thread, card, some lace pins, a pricker and cork board to
support the card whilst pricking out a design and carried on from
there. The strange-looking dark object in the picture at the top of
this page is a bobbin winder, which came much later. |
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I hope someone else may be inspired to take up bobbin lace as I
was by a little serendipity. |
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If you have any comments on this site, please write to me, Glenys
Pople at gkp@howfen.demon.co.uk |
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