The point is well made. Pins have been around since the bronze age so
the question begs to be asked why use thorns, fish bones etc when you
have access to pins. Now since lace making as we know it came into being
around the 15th century (please correct me if I'm a bit early here), but
pins of every variety were available at this time. I should point out
that at this time they were relatively expensive since reference to pins
is made in wills and dowries (only expensive items are so enumerated).
BUT if you consider that some forms of early lace do not require many
pins the problem is solved. By the time that the point laces came along,
some experienced lace makers were NOT using pins on the ground BUT on
the 'pattern part only, so again a multitude of pins was not required.
By the time lace makers were using hundreds or even thousands of pins
the price of pins had dropped significantly.
Anna
On 21/05/11 7:30 AM, Alex Stillwell wrote:
Dear Arachnids
These ideas about using thorns and fish bones have been around for a long
time. Has anyone actually tried using thorns or fishbones to make lace? I mean
the very fine lace made at the time the thorns were supposed to have been
used. Did they work or not?
Regarding the type of thorn, they would have to be from plants found in the
hedgerowa at the time, not exotic ones like cacti. I'm not sure if pyrocantha
would have been found. Does anyone know?
There are many old wives tales around, but you have to try them to prove their
validity and not blindly perpetuate them. I have debunked several.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Alex
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