Hi Sue,
If you wanted to have a go at Tambour Lace then you can get a Tambour Hook
from the site below, it is for a supplier in Belgium where they make Lierse
Lace, a Tambour Lace.
http://www.scharlaeken.be/en/default.dhtml
You would be able to pay on the site with a card so exchange from sterling
to Euros would be done easily.
You would really need a proper tambour hook if you wanted to do this lace as
the hook has a barb on it, like a fish hook, this helps to catch the thread
from underneath the frame holding the net.
I once attended a day workshop of Coggeshall Lace, the English Tambour Lace
which was made in Coggeshall Essex in the past, when I was still living in
England. I have done a little since then but not a great deal. As far as I
am aware Coggeshall was the only place that this Tambour of lace of this
kind was made in England, hence the name Coggeshall Lace.
Have a look at the Coggeshall Museum site here
http://www.coggeshallmuseum.org.uk/lace1.htm
The 'Cotton' net is stretched over a frame, an embroidery frame works well
such as you would use for Cross stitch etc. the thread sits in a vessel, a
yoghourt pot is useful for this but it need a lid with a hole in for the
thread to pass through so that the thread doesn't roll about the floor.
You have the pattern pinned to the underside of the net by just one edge of
the pattern so that you can bring it up under the net now and then to guide
you as you work. the Hook passes down through a hole in the net and the
thread is caught on the hook and brought out of the net to form a loop.
With the loop still on the hook the hook is passed back down through the
next hole in the net and the through caught and brought up again and that
2nd loop passes through the 1st loop made. Just as in Crochet where loops
pass through previous loops to form a chain when you begin a piece of
crochet. There are various filling stitches that can be used once you have
the outline of the design in chain stitches but those filling stitches are
all based on that same movement of the hook through the holes in the net.
There is a knack to using the barbed hook which takes a little time to
master but once you have mastered it you can get a bit of speed up.
The Hook comes without any handle but should fit into your pin vice that you
use for pricking lace patterns, provided you have a pricker with a screw
thingy to allow for changing the needle.
A word of Warning be very careful of the tambour hook and the barb on it.
If you get that caught in your hand or anything then you might need medical
assistance to remove it as the barb will catch under the skin, you should
not just pull it out willy nilly. Guard the hook tip with a small piece of
a bottle cork when not in use. I keep mine, with a bit of cork in place, in
an old aluminium cigar tube complete with the pin vice that holds it.
The above site is the only place I know where you can get Tambour Hooks and
you could also buy the necessary cotton net from the same place. Nylon net
is no good as it stretches and would spring back once it is off the frame.
Look under Linen and Cotton Material link and select Cotton then look for
Tulle Cotton to find the net.
Go to the site above and look to the bottom of the left hand menu and click
on EN for English text. Then go to the link Accessoires(sic) in the same
menu. Under that link you will find Crochet Hooks, click on that link and
then scroll down below the list of Crochet hooks to find Duchesse hooks of 3
varying sizes, 70, 80 & 100. To begin with you would need to use a larger
size hook, to make it easier for yourself to get the hang of the
manipulating the hook to catch the thread etc., then as you advance you can
go to a finer hook. I can't remember now which way the sizing goes on these
hooks but if you ask via the contact us link on the site they will tell you
which size is the larger of the 3 sizes given, probably size 70 rather than
100 but I am not sure.
Jan, the man who runs the business, very often attends our annual regional
lace day, the one I mentioned that is limited to 3000 lacemakers. He is
always swamped with customers at his very large stall. He is very helpful
and speaks English so language would not be a problem if you contact him via
e.mail.
If you look under the link for Books on the site there are a couple for
Tambour Lace under the heading Lace of Lier. Might give you some
inspiration.
When the OIDFA conference was in Barcalona back in 1994 I went to it and saw
a Belgian lady wearing a beautiful triangular shaped collar made of Liers
lace it was truly beautiful and something different to all the bobbin lace
on display.
Regards
Jenny DeAngelis
Sue Wrote;-
<< A friend came across a second hand book mentioning lacemaking and bought
it
for me recently which was nice but when she handed it over it is Tambour
lace.
I had heard the name but didn't know anything about it so checked out some
youtube videos, (what a fabulous resourse that is). I was able to see what
it
was and how it was done. Of course I dont have a tambour hook, but might
manage to use a small crochet hook to have a play at it in the future. Due
to sudden family illness and also as I am currently working on holiday
present
pieces I haven't done anymore with the book.>>
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