There is a type of lace in Malta, examples of which can still be seen
in convents, which is called 'Trina' and which was made using a
bobbin-made tape and needlelace fillings. Early examples use
bobbin-made tape, later ones use machine-made tape. Weaving was a
very common occupation here but I have seen few examples of Trina
with woven tape. The tape was usually made using 4-6 pairs, depending
on the width of the tape required, in complete lengths, as was much
edging lace in those days, and cut to the size required, so any
shaping is done on the pattern. In fact, it was treated in exactly
the same way as machine-made tape is used today. This type of lace
lasted well into the last century but seems to have died out in the
1960's, except for the odd enthusiast.
As far as I can tell from the samples I have seen it was made in
whole stitch, (ctc) with a twist at the edges to allow for gathering
where necessary for shaping. Sometimes a gathering thread was
introduced, similar to the thicker thread on the edge of Luxeuil tape
but in other cases it was gathered and oversewn as in Branscombe.
Many of the items made in Trina are large, bedspread size, and must
have taken months of work if not years.
As far as pricking is concerned, Maltese lace patterns are pricked on
the pillow, not prior to attaching to the pillow. Old original
patterns were drawn on white paper using green or blue ink, depending
on the designer. Occasionally they were drawn on black paper using
white ink. They were copied on to anything handy by the lacemaker or,
more commonly, by the dealer. Many old patterns can be found drawn on
the equivalent of brown paper bags. Pricking is done on the pillow,
as far as I can ascertain, to enable the same pinholes to be used
over and over again as the work is lifted and turned. It certainly
has that result. Remember we are talking about a bolster pillow,
being used upright, as Karen says. So you lift for lengths and turn
for corners; for circular objects you would spin the lace from the
centre for each quadrant; for other shapes you would have half a
pattern on one side of the pillow and its mirror image on the other
and would move the lace backwards and forwards. This is still done
today.
The only reason for covering a pattern would be to protect the lace
from whatever the pattern was drawn with, ink or pencil, and make it
last a little longer or, more recently, for easing eye strain from
working in bright sunlight. Most people now use green film, although
pale blue is sometimes available, with a white waxy sticky backing,
sometimes sold as Fablon, with the pattern between the two sheets.
What was used before this was invented is anyone's guess. I,
personally, have never had any problem with glue sticking to the
pins, and I have never heard of anyone who did. Far more of a problem
is the pins going rusty because of the humidity of the straw inside
the pillow.
Not all pillows are as hard as yours was, Janice. You were just
unlucky enough to use part of a batch by a new supplier who used glue
instead of flour and water paste to make the pillow. My friend had a
similar one which she eventually took apart and remade from scratch
using the proper materials.
I read with interest the digests as they arrive but rarely have the
opportunity to join in any discussion so it is nice to be able to
contribute on this topic.
Margaret
on Gozo
-
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/
