In a message dated 21/05/2011 05:39:59 GMT Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
Has anyone actually tried using thorns or fishbones to make lace? I have made a few pins from blackthorn thorns with goosegrass (cleavers) seeds as heads. They go into the fabric of a straw-stuffed pillow with ease and would be OK for working the early laces where relatively few pins are used and only placed below or to the side of a stitch. However pins were readily available - Queen Elizabeth bought them by the thousand - and once bought could be used indefinitely if used in an environment where they would not be easily lost. As far as I know there is no evidence of pricked patterns being used for the 16th century laces - many could be worked 'freehand' (ie pinned only at the edges), and more complex ones could be worked over a printed fabric pattern. I have found this works well. Not yet found any fish bones that work well as pins, on the otherhand I have successfully used rabbit and game bird bones as bobbins - but that's another story. Gil - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
