>>>From: Weronika Patena [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Whenever I do a lace project, I end up with lots of thread left on the bobbins. How do you deal with this? Is it possible to figure out how much thread a project will take so that not much is left over? <<<
1. Thread is not all that expensive. Even though a spool might cost USD8.00, there's enough to do a lot of projects from that spool. Much of my thread is not worth (to me) the time and effort to store for re-use. I save up the pieces and either give them to my mom (to incorporate into hand-made paper) or the birds (for nesting). 2. If I want to save some thread because I wound yards of it and then decided I didn't like the project, I have been known to wind it off onto something like a cardboard tube (toilet paper or paper towel center) or a cardboard box. I tape the ends and wind the next bobbin's worth next to the first. I can write on the cardboard, to identify the size, fiber, brand, etc. 3. The embroiderers have these little plastic or cardboard "bobbins" (flat cards) that they wind their floss onto. These floss bobbins are designed for winding thread onto, with slits for the thread ends and space to write identity on the bobbin end. This is a nice way to store the leftover thread that you want to re-use. This hadn't occurred to me (duh!) till it was suggested I bring some of these to the class I'm taking next week. They even make boxes to efficiently store large numbers of these floss bobbins. 4. Most small projects like ornaments and bookmarks don't take more than a yard on each bobbin, often less. If I put a yard on each bobbin and it only takes half that, that's just 18" of "waste", not worth keeping (go back to #1). 5. To judge how much to wind, look at the pattern. Any passives, such as at the sewing edge, just take the length of the bookmark, plus the tether (the distance from the bobbin to the lace), plus some to anchor it onto the bobbin. Don't be *too* stingy, because there's some thread used to go up and down as it passes over the other threads, but you're only talking about adding an inch or so for a small project. Permanent passives along the scalloped edge of Bucks will need more, because they follow the curved edge, but you can measure the distance they travel (by eye or by ruler) and add tether and anchor. Other pairs that come from the work when approaching a valley and go back to the work when rising the next hill can be treated as ground pairs (see #7). 6. If you have repeating cloth stitch areas, examine the pattern more closely. If it's the same worker each time, you need a lot on that pair. By "a lot", I mean two yards per bobbin for most bookmarks. If the pattern changes workers each repeat, you won't need much more than for ground stitches, etc. (see #7). If there are a lot of tallies, one bobbin will use a lot of thread, like cloth stitch workers. If you can change off the tally worker each time, this won't be significant. Then check the fans. If there's a single worker going back and forth, you'll need a good bit on that worker. Many fan edges are designed to trade worker, so there's two pairs that need extra thread but neither needs as much as if it's the same worker doing all the fans. 7. That pretty much leaves the grounds and such. You can be a fanatic and trace the path of a pair and measure it exactly, then add tether, anchor, and a bit for going over/under the other threads. Or you can learn to gauge it. Each time you do a project, keep track of how much you wound on and how much is left. That way you'll get an idea of what you actually used for that amount of that kind of ground and motifs. Keep notes: pattern xxx, used Y feet for n bobbins and Z feet for m bobbins. Now, if you're doing trail-type laces (Russian, Slovenian, etc.), you'll have several pairs that are passives and you can gauge how much you need by how far the trail wanders about. Then the worker pair needs "a whole lot." I have heard of fanatics who measure the width of the trail and multiply that by the number of pins (because the worker goes back and forth from pin to pin), then add tether, anchor, and some extra for going over and under threads. Me, I'd rather make lace--my time used for measuring and calculating is worth far more than the thread I'll waste by overestimating the worker. And if I underestimate the worker, I add a new bobbin--that's easy enough to do in cloth stitch. Robin P. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA http://www.pittsburghlace.8m.com/ - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
