Dear Sue et al, This has been discussed already on Arachne several years ago. I am one who is patiently waiting to make my Tonder lace in linen. Alex Stillwell told me it was due to the fact that linen thread is now made exclusively by machine, and those machines won't accept the very long fibers required for the very fine linen thread. Then there is the idea that fine linen was made in Belgium until World War I, after which the flax plants that made the special long fine fibers disappeared. (Although why that strain alone would disappear doesn't ring true with me.) I am terrible with names, but I seem to recall someone with a doctorate in Maine, USA, experimenting with growing flax to get the fine threads, and then perhaps handspin. I think there is one other person doing the same thing, but I don't remember the details. So this is an ongoing issue. In that years old discussion I think Bart or Francis chimed in with the fact that they were working on it, but somethin! g didn't work out. I'm putting my money on the biologists growing the finer flax fibers, and handspinning. Of course, we then will discover why linen thread was so very expensive. However, I for one would be willing to pay the price.
In the meantime, may I recommend Aurifil 50 as a possibility. 40wpc, I find it feels much more like linen than Egyptian 60, which feels wimpy to me. Lyn in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA, where it was near freezing this morning, but not quite, windy, and the sun is shining brilliantly. It is perfect for my Landseer Newfoundland, Daisy, to lie out on the deck in the wind and the sun. "My email sends out an automatic message. Arachne members, please ignore it. I read your emails." BUT, perhaps I’ve hit a nerve here. Lacemakers are customers too & one might wonder if someone wants to please us! Has any thread company tried a subscription model? What’s the minimum run? There should be reasonable demand for linen 130 to 140/2—40wcm seems like sewing thread. I’m not searching for 300! In the meantime, I will test my design in cotton so I can move ahead in the scale that I selected. Francis is both charming & helpful so I will see what he says about the linen. I do think the “grabby” nature of linen would produce a superior result. Thanks again to everyone who has corresponded & added to this discussion. Sincerely, Susan Hottle, South Florida USA - 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/
