Sharon I don't think anyone ever went to the trouble of weighing all the different kinds of bobbins. At least, I've never heard of anyone doing that.
A good way of estimating the type of bobbin that a thread works with is to look at the neck of the bobbin -- the thread storage area. Certain styles of bobbins were typically used for certain regional types, and those regional styles of lace were typically worked in a narrow range of thread sizes. So, for instance, Honiton was and is worked with extremely fine thread. If you look at a Honiton bobbin you can see that there is a very shallow neck. Honiton thread was so fine it didn't need a large thread storage area. the same is true of midlands bobbins. Bucks point and Bedfordshire are fine thread laces, but not quite as fine as Honiton. The midlands bobbins have a shallow and limited thread storage area, but it is larger than a Honiton bobbin. Bayeux bobbins were used for the French version of point ground lace, which was also worked in fine thread. Same for Binche bobbins and Binche lace. Cluny was typically used for household furnishings. This meant it had to be stronger, thicker thread, and able to survive the kind of washing given to bedsheets. The thread was thicker than that used for point ground. Belgian torchon bobbins were also used for laces made for household use. And these bobbins have a substantial, fairly deep, thread storage area. Swedish bobbins have an even deeper, larger thread storage area. Many of their laces were also for household use. Thick thread needed for a bedsheet edging needs lots of storage area, or you would be replacing bobbins every 6 inches. This is how I use various bobbins, others may have different ideas. Belgian torchon, Swedish, -- 30/2 linen - #80 cordonnet Modern Danish -- 60/2 -100/2 linen, 100 cordonnet Modern Dutch -- 120/2 - 140/2 linen Midlands -- 100/2 linen or finer. Lorelei - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
