Dear Clay, Many thanks for your response - it was indeed beautifully worded. I have to say that I agree with you entirely on every point. But shall relate here my own experiences. Jenny, please let's know if you don't understand about Z & S twists.
Z & S was first brought to my attention by Rosemary SHEPHERD (curator of lace at the museum in Sydney). I once showed her a magnificent shawl I have which is about 7 feet square and is made entirely from black Lu Puy lace dating from the mid 1800s. It was Rosemary who identified the lace for me. However, on closer examination she was surprised to see that the thread was entirely a Z twist. She explained to me that lace OUGHT to be made using an S twist, and that this my my shawl even more rare. It is a magnificent piece of work and I was lucky enough to buy it some 20 years ago from an antique shop in Hobart, Tasmania. It is made in strips and some had come apart, so they sold it to me for AUS$20!!! I was able to restore it to perfection - complete with pidgeon poop. As I said, that was what made me AWARE of Z & S. However, I've never really bothered to check with threads I'm using and don't care either way. But as you said Clay, every now and then there's a rogue one. I find that is usually evidenced by the thread becoming unplied as you use it. If it really annoys me and becomes a problem, then I will take the trouble to rewind the bobbin in the opposite direction. But I reckon I've only ever had to do that once or twice. As for metallic threads, I'm yet to find one that actually likes being wound on a bobbin, and the few times I've sued them I've done as you suggested with the drinking straw collar Clay. It works a treat. I don't know if this is relevent to your needs Clay, but Z & S twists can be really important when you are doing a fine Petit Point, Cross Stitch or Tapestry. If the thread starts to unply, or become frizzy when it shouldn't, then the twist is important to its use, and it means you have started sewing with it from the wrong end! Just some thoughts David in Ballarat > For once, I read the original note to the list and then followed up by reading all the responses before I jumped in with my own 2 cents worth... > > And while I found some satisfaction in the fact that I've been at this obsession called lacemaking long enough to recognize all the variations on the theme of CT, CTC, CTCT and the opposite TC, etc..., I was surprised that your response was the only one which related to my own immediate reaction to Jenny's original note (which, btw Jenny, I think your attention to detail on this point is admirable. My tendency was to just "do it", and then when I needed to talk to someone about a problem, I found that my vocabulary was deficient!!). > > Yes, I agree that bobbins can be wound in either direction, as long as you're consistent. But like you, David, I think that if you're not mindful of the twist of your thread, you'll spend a lot of time chasing misbehaving bobbins who have thrown their hitch!! > > I know that there are two schools of thought on treating Z-twist and S-twist threads differently. Some teachers insist that if you wind your bobbins "properly", the twist is of no consequence. But I am a firm believer (from my own experience with threads, relatively brief though it is...) that if your threads usually behave, and suddenly you find yourself with a "rogue thread", the chances are that you usually use an "S" twist but have found yourself with a "Z" twist and are treating it the same. (of visa-versa). > > So my suggestion re winding is to keep doing what works for you, but to bear in mind that the twist of your thread CAN make a difference, and when those bobbins start misbehaving, then rewind them (and then, obviously hitch them) in the opposite direction and see if that makes a difference. > > Some threads are more difficult than others. Silks and metallics are unruly, no matter how you wind them. For these threads, I like to use a collar on the thread to keep it under control. This is made easily from a clean drinking straw, cut in a length to fit the thread section of the bobbin, and then cut up the length to open it. Fitted over the thread, it closes up again and keeps the thread in place. I still hitch the thread, but it doesn't have the tendency to hop off the head of the bobbin that it does without the collar. > > > Clay > > Clay Blackwell > Lynchburg, VA > > > ---- David in Ballarat <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > ============= > Dear Jenny, > > > > Bobbins can be wound clockwise or anticlockwise - it does not matter as > > long as you are consistent > > Ref: Introduction to Bobbin Lace by Rosemary Shepherd page 17 > > that's quite true, but the important things to consider then is the > direction of the half-hitch which holds the thread on (this too must be > consistent according to direction) and most importantly whether the > direction of winding is effected by whether the thread is a "Z" or "S" > twist. (here we go again...........) > > David in Ballarat - doing much much mroe than merely lurking :) > > > > - > To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: > unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
