Spiders, this is a wonderful tip from Alex Stillwell (trimmed, below). My conservation advice: If the "bandage" will be left on a spool and put in storage, stay with simple cotton with no elastic content. Why? Remember I wrote about a Costume Society of America program of 20th C. conservation problems. Items from this period showed effects of "stretch". Clothing for performing (like figure skating costumes), undergarments, things with elastic at the waist, or beads strung on elastic for bracelets, often lost their stretch over a few decades. If you put your lace supplies away for a while, think of long-term effects on threads and equipment. Wrap wooden tools in a few layers of cotton to prevent off-gasing of acid from discoloring and damaging things in the same storage package. Acid can off-gas from wooden bobbins and cause discoloration and weakening of threads! Store these things in a normal living environment; not in the attic and not in the cellar. Put a date on your annual calendar to check for any developments, such as insect infestation, mold, rust. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center -------------------------------------------------------- In a message dated 3/19/2013 5:00:31 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
For those of you having problems with keeping cotton thread clean and spools of silk undoing and getting into tangles I use tubular finger bandage, the type that comes in a long piece and you cut to the length you need. In UK there is a brand 'Carnation footcare' that is tubular knitted cotton. I cut this one on the diagonal as it unravels easily. In US there is an elasticated one sold by the yard. It comes it in several sizes. - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
