This subject is dragging me out of lurk mode ;-) I have been working almost exclusively with pre-1600 laces, and I agree with Tamara that there are no or very few sewings. With the heavier threads used for many of those laces, sewings would just be too bulky.
I have worked some of the Le Pompe patterns and I would never work from the woodcut. I don't think the pricking would be accurate or even. Just the nature of woodcuts. I have been experimenting with various metallic threads trying to duplicate the correct texture of the metallic laces. Most modern metallic threads just don't work. Most modern metallic threads have no metal in them, and are too fine in diameter. They are just not the correct weight. It also doesn't work to double up on the thread - still doesn't look right and is a real pain to work. The heavier "metallic" threads have a tendency to "fracture", producing a faceted effect when pulled up. Then there is the shredding........ :-P I currently have obtained some gold and silver jap that I am going to play with this weekend. There are 2 patterns I have drafted from some lace on an extant dress featured in Janet Arnold's Pattern's of Fashion, book one. I have not yet found a suitable metallic to use for reproduction. Next week I am going to place an order for Moravia 40/2, another lacemaker on Live Journal is having some good results with it and I am anxious to play with it myself. BTW, Tamara, I have drafted two prickings from lace in paintings and a few more from extant pieces - interested? Back to lurking! Ellen Washington State, USA At 10:50 PM -0500 1/29/07, Tamara P Duvall wrote: >To go back to Orla's original posting: > >>It looks like it's about 20 pairs of bobbins and is made of Kreinik cord >>- which has become my favorite thing to use for metallics. The biggest >>pain for it is that there are sewings all over the place. Every >>vertical line in the footside requres sewings as does the triple loop >>at the top. > >I was *so* disturbed by Orla's claim of the multitude of sewings, >that I fired up my pillow today and started working on that pattern >(Le Pompe, Book one, p.17, B) :) "About 20 pairs" is correct; by >my reckoning, you need either 18 or 21 (I'm using the 21 version). I >didn't make a separate pricking; I'm using the woodcut "as is", same >as Orla. And I'm using Kreinik cord (though in copper; didn't have >any gold on hand) -- again, same as Orla. Which meant that, in order >to fit the thread (and keep the lace looking as robust as it had >been in 15hundreds), I had to photocopy the woodcut in the >Levey/Payne Le Pompe at 65%. > >My early experience -- between a quarter and a third of the first >repeat -- confirms my preconceived theory: there are no sewings at >all in that pattern. > >Personally, I hate metallic thread-- it combines all the faults of >natural fiber and wire, without having any overwhelming compensation >for the faults :) The next sample will be both larger and made in >linen. I doubt a wire sample will follow -- this is not my favourite >Le Pompe pattern :) > >So far, all the effort has been directed at scratching my personal >curiosity itch -- can I make this without any sewings at all, the >way I *think* it must have been made in 1550?But, a BL Editor for >the IOLI Bulletin cannot afford too many moments of *idle* >curiosity; I'd like to publish the pattern (pricking, diagrams) in >the Bulletin eventually. And, maybe, some other 16th c repros as >well. > >So, my question is this: >How much interest is there, *among the IOLI members*, in >reproductions of old plaited laces (in thread or in wire or both)? I >know SCA-affiliated lacemakers might be interested, because, with >their cut-off date being 1600, their sources of patterns, especially >BL ones, are severely limited (2 published books as far as I know, >and there are many patterns in both which had not yet been re-done >for modern consumption). But, how big is the cross-over between >"straight" lacemakers and SCA ones? Are there any SCA lacemakers who >also belong to IOLI? Would they be interested in having more >patterns which are "in period" both visually *and* technically? > >Let me know. > >-- >Tamara P Duvall http://t-n-lace.net/ >Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland) > > >- >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]
