I've recently acquired a copy of 'Bayeux Lace' by Marie-Catherine Nobecourt and Janine Potin (from the Lace Guild second-hand books) which includes a translation of the 'Manuel de la Dentelliere' written by Rose Durand in 1919. On the first page of this it says
"Normally the pillow and its roller rest horizontally on a small firm stand, but it sometimes happens that certain lacemakers unintentionally increase the twist of the thread as they work. Others, with similar movements, will produce the opposite effect, untwisting it. In either case the pillow must be tipped, to the left to counteract the involuntary twist, to the right to remedy untwisting." I've never seen this suggested as a solution to threads untwisting (and then) breaking before. Bayeux bobbins don't have spangles so theoretically would roll to left or right depending on the tilt of the pillow which implies that the thread being used had a S-twist (twisting clockwise increases the twist). If your thread had a Z-twist you'd need to try the opposite - i.e. tilting the pillow to the left to remedy untwisting. I know from my teaching that some lacemakers have trouble with some threads untwisting and breaking but I've never been able to work out why. All I know is that the reels of thread they give up on work perfectly for me when I try them out. That's not much help, I know. My suggestion would be first to make sure that you wind your bobbins by turning the bobbin, not by wrapping the thread around it which could add or remove twist (my website has more about this). And then see which way you need to twist your bobbins to tighten the thread and make a point of doing this every now and then while you're working. Jean in Glasgow where the ground is all white again. --------------------------------------------------------------- Jean Leader Glasgow, Scotland [email protected] http://www.jeanleader.co.uk - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]
