At 11:00 PM 8/7/2003 +0200, you wrote: >I joined some time ago and have been lurking, reading the digest. ..... >Within the past year I decided that I'd like to learn tatting. .........> >How can you tell, by looking at photos such as the ones in these auction, if a >lace is handmade or machine made? The seller claims that they are >handmade, but they look just like pieces of lace that I have that are >machine made. ....... >http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2548022631&category=2219 >http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2548023820&category=2219 > >Debbie in Jerusalem
Hi Debbie, Welcome! I can't help with the tatting question. However, I'll stick my neck out on the handmade lace. This will be mostly personal opinion so someone else may have a different viewpoint. I believe that both of these lace items are machine made. It is very common for lace sellers (who often don't really know much about lace) to label any lace item as 'handmade'. As is often said, let the buyer beware! It behooves each bidder to assess the item (as best you can from the pictures) to confirm or deny any claims. Somewhere in the mid 1800's, the machines were developed that could duplicate the look of Torchon and Cluny type laces, though not always the techniques. Millions of yards of this lace was produced. The quantity so overwhelmed the production of handmade lace yardage that I start out assuming this type of lace is machinemade, until proven beyond a doubt that it's handmade. If the item is not clearly shown, with an enlargement of a piece of the lace, I sometimes ask the seller for an additional picture. Sometimes I get one, sometimes not. Back to the techniques comment. Look carefully at the center of spiders. Machines had difficulty making spiders the way we do in BL. Use your magnifying glass on the first item listed. The center of the spiders have the threads combined into groups which have a square, basketweave look to them. I can't speak for the other lacemakers in the group, but I don't make my spider centers that way. One key question to ask yourself is: Do the threads move through the lace in normal BL patterns? Do the shapes look like they should in BL? In the second lace, there's some threadpaths along the scalloped edge that don't look quite right. Also, the 'leaves' are long rectangular tallies. The oval leaf shape is more difficult to duplicate. If the leaf/tally has 2 or 4 passives, then it's very likely machinemade. Another clue is to look for a flaw or mistake in the lace. Look along the repeats for 1-3 feet to see if that same flaw is repeated. If you can find it at regular intervals, then it's a machine lace. People mistakes are not usually repeated the same at regular intervals. (I know this clue won't usually work on eBay sales since you can't examine that much lace.) Most important is to get accustomed to the look of handmade lace. Most machinemade lace has something done differently to produce the 'look' of the lace within the limits of the machine action. Half stitch might be done differently. Clothwork may be done in a single direction instead of following the flow of the design. Developing an 'eye' takes time and work. One person once told me that on some laces that did such a great job of duplicating a lace style, only an analysis of the thread could determine handmade from machinemade. When she saw laces like this, she treated them like machinemade since the chances were greater that they were MM. If you are serious about learning more, there are books out that are great references. Elizabeth Korella's "Guide to lace and Linens" is a good start for learning to recognize the techniques and features of handmade lace. "Lace Machines and Machine Laces" by Pat Earnshaw deals with the machine laces. There are other books around also. This may give you a few clues. Study and exerience will be the biggest teachers. Happy lacing, Alice in Oregon - 9400 lightning strikes in 24 hrs. 65 fires. Oregon Country Lacemakers Arachne Secret Pal Administrator Mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
