[lace] Picots - so hard to change
Dear Friends, I know we've discussed picots many times over the years, and ever since I first learned them I've always done 5T pin, 2T which has served me well. However, some months ago I bought and read Ulrike VOELKER's book called The Grammar of Point Ground. Many of her tips I had already figured out for myself, but I did get quite a surprise when I read about picots. Whilst Ulrike said the number of twists before the pin can vary a lot according to the thread you are using, she stressed that the total should always be an odd number, but that there should NEVER be any twists AFTER the pin. OK, I thought, I'll give it a go. So, I have this past week finished a lovely edging in Blonde Lace where I did the picots 7T pin. I'm sure there are quite a number towards the beginning of the piece which are still 5T pin 2T. You just don't realize how automatic these moves become. Now that the pins are removed, I have to say that I am very happy with the result. Every single picot of the many hundreds worked perfectly and each is snuggled right up to the passives owing to the lack of twists following the pin. Give it a shot David in Ballarat, AUS - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Picots - so hard to change
Hi David Arachnids, Thank you David for sharing this! Hopefully this will stop my picots leaning back. Happy lace making, Joepie in a miserably rainy East Sussex, UK ( Good lace weather, though!;-) From: David C COLLYER However, some months ago I bought and read Ulrike VOELKER's book called The Grammar of Point Ground. Whilst Ulrike said the number of twists before the pin can vary a lot according to the thread you are using, she stressed that the total should always be an odd number, but that there should NEVER be any twists AFTER the pin. Give it a shot David in Ballarat, AUS - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
RE: [lace] Picots - so hard to change
Hi David, like you I was taught 5t pin 2t never questioned it before, but will certainly give it a try on the next picots that I do. Bye the way, I never saw the poppies finished, did you post a picture, did I miss it somehow? Sue M Harvey Norfolk UK - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Picots - so hard to change
I had been doing 3t pin 3t, as described in the book I have been learning from, with little success. The two threads always popped apart when I took the pin out. Another, much older, book it suggested 6t pin, which worked a lot better. Based on this discussion, I will start giving 7t a try. Picots are one of the challenges I am struggling with as a beginner. Katelyn Schreyer Washingon DC - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Picots - so hard to change
The greater number of twists are for finer thread. I think it's a matter of physics, the number of twists in total should be an odd number but I'm too lazy to check this out. For the double picot (with two loops snuggled into one), make sure that once the loops are in place around the pin, that the pair is gently but firmly tensioned - to prevent 'rabbit ears'. On Thu, Dec 8, 2011 at 6:29 AM, Katelyn Schreyer krschre...@gmail.com wrote: I had been doing 3t pin 3t, as described in the book I have been learning from, with little success. The two threads always popped apart when I took the pin out. Another, much older, book it suggested 6t pin, which worked a lot better. Based on this discussion, I will start giving 7t a try. - -- Bev in Shirley BC, near Sooke on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of Canada - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Picots - so hard to change
I have said on arachne several times over the years that theres no point in doing twists after the picot; this is what I was taught by Pat Read in the mid 1980s and I how I have done them and taught them ever since. If you analyse where the twists go, the ones before the pin form the cord around the pin; like the jam in the sandwich it sits between the two threads making the picot. But any twists after the pin just make a leg between the picot and the edge of the lace and can push the picot at an angle to the edge, rather than it sitting square on to the edge. The number of twists depends on the thickness of the thread relative to the pin size. There is no magic number. This is one of the things which you should work out as you do your first picot of the piece (or even better, as you do your thread sample!); you need enough twists to make your cord around the pin the right length to fit the pin neatly. Too few and the picot can look scruffy and the threads may not be be held tightly together, too many and you will have trouble making the picot smooth. A thick linen might only need three or four twists even around a heavy pin, whereas 180 Honiton thread can take easily take 7 or 8 twists around a very fine pin. On the same theme, make sure all your pins are the same size or your careful calculations won't work! I see lots of people with pin tins and cushions of assorted sizes. Jacquie in Lincolnshire - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Picots - so hard to change
David C COLLYER responded Did you by any chance try her suggestion of using a thicker pin for the picots? I've been doing that for years. Hiya, David, I guess you're into spring now. Boggles my mind. How does the picot pin improve things for you? Do you have big holes in your pillow? I tried picot pins and didn't see much difference, and I had big holes in my roller pillow. But then my picots are a work in progress, so the assessment of a really experienced lacemaker would be appreciated. Lyn in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where it's dark now. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Picots - so hard to change
G'day Lyn, Hiya, David, I guess you're into spring now. Boggles my mind. How does the picot pin improve things for you? Do you have big holes in your pillow? I tried picot pins and didn't see much difference, and I had big holes in my roller pillow. But then my picots are a work in progress, so the assessment of a really experienced lacemaker would be appreciated. My picot pin is simply a silver lace-making pin which happens to be of a much greater thickness than my other pins as they are the very fine Withoff pins. I've never noticed any holes in my pillow The effect is worth it David Lyn in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where it's dark now. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Picots - so hard to change
Oh Lyn, I guess you're into spring now. I forgot to say, we're actually into SUMMER now and today is a gorgeous 30C David Boggles my mind. How does the picot pin improve things for you? Do you have big holes in your pillow? I tried picot pins and didn't see - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
