Fashion Word of The Day: Bobbin Lace

Bobbin lace is a form of handmade lace using bobbins wound with thread and woven over a pillow. Pins are used to outline the pattern and threads are drawn and woven between them to create the grounds and motifs. Originally the fish bones were used in place of pins and that is why it is know also as bone lace. Another term for it is pillow lace.

These are all pictures of my own work. I made the bobbin lace pillow and the lace that's being worked on the pillow.

I use a crochet cotton thread or a pearl cotton in these early examples. But fine bobbin lace is worked in linen thread that is no bigger than sewing thread.

You can see the pins on the outside edges of the lace. The pattern or pricking is wrapped around the middle part of the pillow, called the bolster. The bolster is circular so you can work an edging for as long as you need to. The pricking is done on a heavy card stock or poster board. I used a dark color as so I can see the work better.

Finished example of bobbin lace edging.

This was a lace bookmark I made using colored pearl cotton.

Fashion Word of the Day: Alencon Lace

Alencon lace is a needlepoint lace with a fine net ground. The pattern is outlined with a heavy cordonnet. It was originally a french made lace.

So now lets figure out the definition...
needlepoint lace means a lace that was originally made by a needle and thread employing, mainly buttonhole and buttonhole variation stitches to create the intricate ground and motifs.
ground refers to the tulle looking background of a lace, or the non main lace motifs.
cordonnet is a heavier yarn that outlines the main motifs of certain kinds of lace.

There is much information on lace. One book that I find very informative is called Bobbin and Needle Laces: Identification and Care, written by Pat Earnshaw. This is a very good book to have if you are a collector trying to identify different varieties of laces. Here is a link to a listing of the book on Amazon.

Stay tuned for tomorrows Fashion Word of the Day

First Etsy Listing

These are the picture to my first Etsy posting. This is a hand knit shawl that I made a few years ago.