Depends on how much you're leaving on the pillow. So long as there is at least two or three inches left then there shouldn't be too much of a problem - that was all that was re-pinned down when lace was moved up on the pillow before block pillows were commonplace. But the more left the better.
BUT, the edge passives may well be unstable if there is only a small amount left so you will need to take care not to pull them through, and be gentle with all the tensioning until you are sure it's not distorting. Consider sacrificing half an inch or so at the start of the lace left on the pillow, and teasing out the edge passives at the cut place (now the beginning) so you can weaver's knot a thread onto the tails and use the longer thread as an anchor. It may be worth your time to work a bit more before you cut, because you will be saving all the time that you will otherwise use to set up again. Don't worry about cutting lace off the pillow - the first time is the most scary and remember that's how 'professional' lacemakers worked. When the buyer came round, or it was their day to take their lace to the shop, they cut off what they had done and were paid accordingly. They certainly didn't knot it all off and start again, and this was also one of the reasons why they worked the same pattern all the time - all their effort went into producing saleable goods and none into the 'faffing about' things that take up so much of our time now such as what thread shall I use, should I use a card pricking or sticky plastic on paper, how much thread shall I wind etc, etc......................... Jacquie in Lincolnshire - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
