As a beginner, I was told to leave the pins in "overnight". I think this was a general rule to cover the chance that the thread being used took longer to conform than usual. I have seen a bookmark that had the last inch curled when the rest of it lay flat. I contributed this to the final pins being removed immediately. I may or may not have been correct. In my experience, a good thread conforms to shape very fast. Working a narrow edging on a roller pillow has the lace falling free of the pin area in 2-3 hours. I never saw any difference between those sections and the ones that stayed pinned for weeks.Â
To support this fast-conforming idea is the rule I was told about making leaves. If I make a leaf and it's bad so I take it out, use a different worker thread on the second try. The incorrect bends put in the worker thread on the first try are still in the fiber memories. Use a new worker that has not been 'bent'. That first leaf was shaped for only a few minutes yet that was long enough to make that thread difficult to re-shape. Conversely, when I end a bookmark with a tail of the threads, I want the threads to lie straight. They have been wrapped on bobbins for an unknown length of time and will curl if cut off. I unwind them for 6-8 inches, pull them straight, dampen them, and pin them down firmly. Then let them stay there at least overnight. This is forcibly removing the 'curl' set into the threads by being wound on the bobbins so I give them plenty of time to be re-educated. So --- my conclusion is that it depends on the thread. That's hard to explain to a beginner. I think that's why my first teacher told us to leave it sit overnight. It didn't hurt the good thread to sit, and gave a chance for a poor thread to conform. Beginners have a greater chance of using a thread that's not the best quality. Alice in Oregon -- where it's very hot this weekend. It's been a very warm year so far, setting many heat records. - 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/
