On Oct 27, 2004, at 13:58, Jane Partridge wrote:
I have never had to tie in the gimp threads - make sure that you overlap
the gimp through more than one stitch, don't cut off close until the
lace is "set", if necessary add an extra twist to the pairs holding the
gimps in place.
I've never tied in the gimp threads (ie, secured them via tying the "basic" thread around them), but that's because I'd never heard of the practice... Now that I have - thanks, Sylvia - I'm sure to... :)
I'm an obsessive personality, and one of my obsessions has always pivoted around a "secure exit" (gimp and basic threads alike). Even working in Flanders (where the gimp passes through 2 pairs instead of one, as in PG); even when thread exits through more than one pin (not always possible); even when the thread is linen or cotton, rather than silk (ie not as slick and slippery)... I don't trust it not to escape; I have seen too many examples of *intended* circles, which survived as semi-circles (at best)
The problem with tying is that it is likely to alter the thread paths, and should you have made a mistake, it makes it very difficult to back-track!
Tough er, ahem... :) Given how many times one alters the paths - intentionally or not - by adding or missing a twist... Given that one - usually - discovers those "oopsies" only after one's removed the "pin forest" covering them up (way too late to correct them)... At least, tying the gimp in is both done on purpose *and* sensible :)
In general, you should aim never to have any knots/ties in your lace. The only legitimate use I have come across in the English laces is in Honiton,
Not an English *lace*, but one which has been best explored/explained by English lacemakers (Patricia Reed and Sandi Woods) - Milanese. In making a big, scroll-type turn, one's *told* to tie a knot after the first (nearest to the headside) two passives, to keep them in place. I don't do it - prefer to achieve the same result via tensioning (and curse when it doesn't work <g>) - but it's not only not a sin, it's a recommended technique.
And passives in a scroll-head *can* be controlled by tensioning alone, while gimps can't... I think I'll definitely tie my basic threads around my gimps from now on, and anti-knot rules be d...d :) Actually, I think that using glue (however diluted) on lace offends me more than knots...
That's not to say I agree with Sylvia on *every* issue :) Apologies an'all, but I don't think I'll take your advice and "go where ever you came from" (wherever did you learn your spelling?)... I've lived here for over 31 yrs, and have been a citizen for over 20, so it's as much my country as it's yours, and here I stay. And I feel free to complain about the glitches, when I perceive them. Also, I do not run from problems, just because someone tells me to; if I dislike something, I try to change it and make it better.
--- Tamara P Duvall http://lorien.emufarm.org/~tpd Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland) Healthy US through The No-CARB Diet: no C-heney, no A-shcroft, no R-umsfeld, no B-ush.
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