A couple of thoughts on this thread. First, regarding removing pins, please may I buck the trend and make a plea that when you are working Honiton, Milanese, Duchesse and other laces of this type and scale, you don't take out alternate pins. My reasoning for this is as it is quite possible that the lace will be on your pillow for a while, if you observe carefully you will see that the edge ends up with a slight dip where pins have been removed. Along edges that are sewn to another, the pins can all come out.
Anyone that the Perryman/Voysey book "New Designs in Honiton Lace" can see this effect; on page 51, look at the top of the right hand leaf or page 85 on the front edge of the bonnet, skirt and sleeve. I'm not picking on this book particularly, I just had it in reach and it has very clear photos :-) If your pin heads are too large to allow all the pins to lie flat, push down alternate ones and then the remaining ones so they sit flat on the first. Even if all your pinheads are flat to the work you should still use a cover cloth or slider to protect both the lace you have already made from the friction of the bobbins and the thread from the pins. Secondly, if you are working on a block or roller pillow on a courser lace, where you are unpinning the back as you work, stop and think how long those pins have been in. A narrow Torchon may be having the back unpinned within an hour or two of being worked, so in that case it seems pointless to leave the last couple of inches to 'set'. As far as starching goes, one of my friends made an exquisite Torchon table cloth in cotton thread, partly with me and partly with Pat Read. The rounds were sewn together on the pillow as the work progressed (this ensures the joins are at the same tension as the rest of the work) and although all care was taken to avoid folding the lace more than necessary, as it was finished she spoke to Pat for advice on pressing or blocking it. To her delight, Pat volunteered. What she did was to mark out the size on a piece of old sheet (with a waterproof pen so it is a permanent record that can be used again when the tablecloth is washed) and the pinned it out right around the edge through the sheet into ??? (I must ask Pat what she did pin into. On the floor into carpet? Maybe she has a large soft board of some sort, but this cloth must be 4' square). Finally she gently sprayed the whole cloth with starch. Not a lot, just enough to dampen it slightly. It still drapes and is not 'stiff' but has a pleasant body to it and it looks wonderful. It is now stored around a hard cardboard tube (from a carpet warehouse) inside its piece of sheet, ready to be given to grand-daughter in due course. So there is a half way point between the 'soak it and dab it off' sort of starching that we need for some 3D lace, and not starching at all. I suggest that if you think your lace might need starching, you do some experiments. Make a length of bandage in the same thread on the same grid and try different types and amounts of starch. Keep notes so you have a reference for future use! And don't forget that starch (as distinct from some/most stiffeners) will wash out if you are too heavy handed, so no permanent damage will be done. Jacquie in Lincolnshire where it's about to rain, but it is the first day of Wimbledon today so it is to be expected! - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
