That's what we do in Malta. We all copy patterns and use the copy to work the lace over it. If the pillow is soft then we may put a piece of card behind the paper. Depending on what the pattern is (i.e. whether it may stay long on the pillow or whether I may want to use it more than once) then I would cover it with plastic film. Or at most just pin an ordinary piece of plastic over it. As far as I know, there is absolutely no harm in photocopying a pattern from a book as long as it is for your own personal use. I wouldn't do it any other way because, for me, books are sacrosanct. There is no way I would tear a page out of a book even if it was meant to be taken out. Usually my books are as new as the day I buy them - and it was the same with my school books because I wouldn't even write in them! Karen in Malta
-----Original Message----- From: owner-l...@arachne.com [mailto:owner-l...@arachne.com] On Behalf Of lynrbai...@desupernet.net Sent: 28 May 2010 21:11 To: lace@arachne.com Subject: [lace] Pricking material I do not actually make a lot of lace, for a number of reasons, so re-use of a pricking is immaterial to me. I tend to simply photocopy the pricking in the book on ordinary copy paper, and then, if it is a large pricking, I will use the blue film to attach it to the pillow. I have made Torchon bookmarks from photocopied prickings with great success. I have also purchased a packet of card stock from Staples, an office supply chain, and copied the pricking from the book onto that. The copier at the office is excellent, was free, and there was no chance of any distortion. At Staples, you can find 100 sheets of 8inches x 11 1/2inches card stock of varying colors and thickness, and I picked one that seemed right to me. Traditionally, of course, one used thick glazed card stock for prickings because the pricking was used over and over, perhaps for years, and it needed to be sturdy. This is also true when one is going to copy a pricking with a pricker, pricking each hole and so on. If all you're doing is going down the hall to the copier, and spend a minute or two, the need for something to last through a lot of use disappears. Which brings me to my question. Assuming the copy machine is accurate, and that you're only going to use the pattern once, is there any other reason not to photocopy? Or has this been discussed before I joined? The distinction between non-commercial production of lace, and the commercial production of lace comes into play in many areas of lacemaking. It behooves us to keep that as a factor when discussing the methods used to make lace. Lyn in Pennsylvania, US, where our Memorial Day weekend is going to have mixed periods of rain and sun. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com