If you work with slippery silk, please read last paragraphs (below). Did the regular list of members receive the reply sent to Liz in North Carolina yesterday? The people on my bcc list (including myself) got it. However, AOL sent me a reject message because I put www in front of [email protected],  Â
If you know someone using gmail who does not get what I write, that is an Arachne programming issue. To get around that, I have a private bcc list. Send a request directly to me. Bcc messages do not show your address to any other people. Cc messages do. Remember to search the AOL archives when backed into a corner. http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/index.html Just searched "knotting silk" and got a couple old silk tying off messages right at the top, no mention of paste, from Jane Partridge and Sue Babbs. Sue referred back to advice from David (Australia). Lacemakers, if you work with slippery silk, why not do a short test today of what they said compared to what you do, and report back to Arachne giving silk manufacturer's name and describing the knot? (By the way, Sue has been bcc'd because she uses gmail.) Original question and comments to Liz are below, for those who did not receive yesterday's letter from me. Sorry Avital, but I do not know if regular subscribers received yesterday's letter. Jeri Ames in Maine USALace and Embroidery Resource Center----------------------------------------------------------------------  In a message dated 9/27/2018 10:16:39 AM Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes: I have a question about the best way to secure knots in silk thread? I have just finished a piece from the "Into a Circle" pattern pack using Bart and Francis flat silk thread. I have done the sewings and tied a surgeons knot. I have not cut off the bobbins yet and I can see that some of the knots are beginning to open up. In Japanese Embroidery a dab of wheat paste is used to make sure nothing slips. But I can hear Jeri gasping in horror from here! Do any of you have any suggestions? Thank you, Liz R, Raleigh, NC ----------------------------------------------------------------------Dear Liz in North Carolina (3 states north of Florida), Location is explained for non-Americans who might not be able to identify NC. Raleigh is located inland. To conservation experts, climate matters. With this explanation you can relate to weather maps seen on the news. The advice to weave cut ends of threads back into the lace as invisibly as possible sounds like a good choice to me. Change direction once if able to do so, before you cut. I will not gasp about the use of wheat paste, Liz. That is what I used when I took Japanese silk and metal embroidery lessons. However, this form of embroidery was stitched on silk material that had an underlining of firm cotton. The cotton served as a barrier so paste did not seep through to silk material. Conservation begins when an object is 1) designed and 2) the materials for making it are selected. You have no idea how any purchased fiber has been processed and made into thread, and what may be embedded deep in the fibers. Silk thread choice of slippery or matte depends on the visual effect you want. Since it is traditionally used in the Orient, follow the lead of millions of professionals who have used silk - for centuries. Some of the best silk works ever created (usually for royalty) have survived for a long time. Even longer, when found in sealed tombs and ice caves where air did not affect them. In the present, there are decisions to make. Will you ever want to wash the lace? If so, no paste!  The lace belongs to you. Choose wheat- or rice-based powders and make into paste with distilled water, if you absolutely feel it is necessary. That depends, of course, on how the silk lace will be used. (Some old silk laces in my collection were starched - potato-based - and dipped in tea, which are other questionable practices. I have soaked them in distilled water to restore them to being softer and of a creamy color. There have been no bad results that might be caused by pasted knots because paste was probably never used when these old laces were made.) If you must use paste, Liz, I would advise against those sold in craft stores. Formulas change constantly and have not been time-tested on lace.  Please remember what I have advised about lace conservation concerns. Make a small throw-away "doodle" piece using threads you will use in the larger project. Test knots and paste or glue on that. It will not be totally fool-proof, because food-based substances will change in character over time. Oxidation will darken them. Wheat or rice pastes are edible, and may attract microcosms looking for a meal. If critters "nibble" they weaken threads. There are no guarantees even though you try to follow best possible advice from conservators.  Choose what you know to be best for your silk lace, how you will use it, and the climate in which it will "live". Treasure the lace, and know it will probably be fine for as long as you and your younger family members live. Liz, I was delighted to meet you and your husband in Bruges at the 2018 World Lace Congress. Jeri Ames in Maine USALace 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://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
