Not everyone is subscribed to receive Laurie Waters' comments about e-bay lace offerings, so may not connect with what I have to say about hankies that have been permanently creased. Please be patient and read on. Often hankies are pictured on e-bay that have been folded into smaller squares (quarters) and pressed. This is a terrible practice from a conservation perspective. Woven linen or cotton to which lace is attached has a tendency - over time - to weaken or completely break apart at pressed creases. If you have folded/pressed lace hankies in storage, I recommend you unfold them and store flat, or rolled. Flat storage: I keep my lace hankies open and flat in a large conservation box. Hankies with very fragile lace (such as Mechlin and Binche) need to be laid between larger squares of acid-free paper so the coarser laces do no damage to them. Anything dark or black needs to be stored separately.
Rolled storage: You can use aluminum foil to create a wood acid barrier for cardboard or wood tubes, so the acid does not migrate into textiles. Be sure tubes are completely sealed - including the open ends. Never use adhesive tape to hold the aluminum foil in place. Roll the hankies, add a final layer of acid-free tissue, and tie in place with strips (ribbon width) of white cotton fabric or grosgrain ribbons that have been thoroughly washed in distilled water and Orvus. Do not keep hankies in the old-fashioned gift boxes they may have come in. These are often made of wood pulp and glue. You can, of course, test cardboard and papers with a pH testing pen (written about so many times on Arachne). Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003/albums/most-recent
