[lace] Recognising Lace
I cannot tell the difference between a Nike trainer and one made for Tesco unless I can see the logo, and I only know an I-phone from any other smart-phone if I see the apple. But to many groups of teenagers this information is important: from ten paces they can tell not only the make but the model, and possibly where and when it was made. Once upon a time, when lace was high fashion, there would have women (and a few men) who knew their laces in the same detail. That is no longer the case. It seems that many people either lump every lace-like fabric as 'lace' or use the name of whichever lace they first met - most of us have come across the 'that's tatting' lady! It seems, from the recent New York Times article about the discovery of a 'new' Rembrandt, that Jan Six has fallen into the same trap. He knew the collar was lace and of the right style for the 1630s and seems to have known of bobbin lace but not needlelace. The two techniques were equally important at that period and in a painting that shows mainly the negative spaces it would be difficult, if not impossible, to tell the difference. (See also https://www.britishportraits.org.uk/blog/you-should-always-look-twice-by-gil-dye/ ) Gil Dye. England - 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/
[lace] Sri Lankan lace
Sri Lanken Lace Many of the items in my lace collection are of unknown provenance, however there are a few pieces that I know are from Sri Lanka. Two are tourist pieces, one bought by my sister in 1991, the other by a friend in February 2004, a third piece I bought from the* Power of Hands* display at the Knitting and Stitching show in London in 2008. The *Power of Hands Foundation* was established in Gonne in southern Sri Lanka after the devastating tsunami in 2004. Women were trained to work bobbin lace and to make up items using the lace which can be sold to raise much needed funds. Initially sales were mainly to tourists, however in 2005, with the support of Andrea Galer and other members of the London film an fashion community, contact was established with a film company, and Power of Hands is now making collars and other lace items for period films such as Jane Eyre. The amount of lace required for such films is more than can be provided by the hand workers, so the company has sourced high quality machine lace which is used alongside handmade bobbin lace. (Of the five other pieces of Sri Lanken lace in my collection, two are machine made.) I would love to know when and by whom lace was introduced to Sri Lanka (Ceylon)? An early note I have was that it was introduced to the country by missionaries (I assumed British ones); my sister in 1991 was told by the tourist board that it was the Dutch who had introduced the craft, my recent research indicates that it was more likely to be a Portuguese import and that the Sri Lankan name - beeralu - is Portuguese, but that is contradicted by another source which says the word is a local one! (The statement that lace was introduced to the country in the 15th century can certainly be discounted.) Some say that the lace was taught first to fishermen's wives, others that it was the aristocracy who first learned the craft. Today I read that it was Malays who introduced the craft. That was the first I had heard of any lace connection with Malaysia - so I am thoroughly confused! Does anyone have any reliable information? Gil - 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/
[lace] Computer coding
It is often forgotten that one of the earliest computer programmers was a woman - Ada Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron - who in the 1840s did much of the work that led to Charles Babbage's *Analytical Engine*, widely considered to be the first computer. Also Jacquard cards (basically computer punch cards) were in use on lace-making machines as early as 1834 . Gil - 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/
Re: [lace] Finger looping
H Bev, Slentre braid sounds exactly like the 5 loop braid which was the first finger-looped braid I learned. Did you know that by picking up the loop that is transferred from one hand to the other in different ways - eg by changing whether you catch the top or the bottom thread of the loop - you can get different shaped braids? I'm not sure about Slentre Braid being a precursor to bobbin lace but I would suggest it is the same family. Agreed a fascinating topin Gil On Fri, Apr 6, 2018 at 6:26 PM, Bev Walker wrote: > Hello Gillian and everyone > > I am reminded of "Slentre Braid" which is made of 5 doubled threads, > anchored at one end, looped at the other. Briefly, two fingers of one hand, > three of the other hook into the loops where a weaving motion takes place, > one loop through another. The result is a quickly-made two-faced braid, one > side looks woven, the other knitted. This isn't like the braid in Devon's > photo. > I don't know the term 'finger looping' - perhaps Slentre Braid is an > example. Or it could be finger weaving. > > Could be a precursor to bobbin lace. I don't know. > The topic is absolutely fascinating! > > On Fri, Apr 6, 2018 at 12:10 AM, Gilian Dye wrote: > >> >> I've been puzzled for a while by the prevalence of finger looping - on >> the >> face of it is an unlikely technique to have developed. Why decide to put >> loops on your fingers instead of manipulating individual threads? Could >> these braids be a form of plaiting? >> > > > -- > Bev in Shirley BC, near Sooke on beautiful Vancouver Island, west coast of > Canada > - 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/
Re: [lace] Finger looping
I have had fun playing with simple finger looping in the past, but have not dabbled in the more complex 'recipes' so I am in no position to say for sure whether or not those braids are finger looping and the patterns do not appear in either of the books I have. Jean has done far more finger looping than I have, but she is away from home at the moment so is not in a position to look at her samples. I've been puzzled for a while by the prevalence of finger looping - on the face of it is an unlikely technique to have developed. Why decide to put loops on your fingers instead of manipulating individual threads? Could these braids be a form of plaiting? (cf Devon's giant plaits introduced a few years back). We each need another lifetime to experiment with such things! Gil On Fri, Apr 6, 2018 at 4:41 AM, Kim Davis wrote: > Gil and Jean, please correct me if you know differently, but I do not > believe this is loop braiding. I do not recognize the interlacing or color > configurations as possible with orthodox braids from this technique. > > Kim > > > >> > - 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/
[lace] defining lace
I have been very interested in the recent discussions on Arachne, particularly the information about the 1970s revival of needlelace and the increase in interest in crafts in countries apart from England. Thank you to all who have added to the knowledge of our heritage in this area. Now the discussion has moved on to attempts to define lace, all very thought provoking, but I have no expectation that we will ever reach any conclusion that we can all agree! I suggest that there are a wide range of fabrics/items that 99% of lacemakers and non-lacemakers would look at and say 'that's lace'. These could be made by any one of numerous techniques, by hand or machine or a combination of both (Kate Middleton's dress was machine net and machine-made motifs, the lace fabric as a whole was assembled by expert hand stitchers). The problem of definition comes when we are looking at work that is not small and white with lots of holes, but uses techniques we usually associate with lacemaking - particularly bobbin and needle-lace, but also the craft laces such as tatting, knitting, crochet, filet, Tenerife Personally I am happy to leave the subject slightly fuzzy at the edges, but I'm not sure this is going to be any help to Devon with her catalogue entries! On a specific point I'm afraid I disagree with Elena - bobbin lace evolved in the sixteenth century from braid making and exactly the same techniques were used for the colourful surface decorations in metal threads and coloured silks as for the white linen bobbin lace on the ruffs of the time - where bobbin and needle lace were often used together, and were sometimes barely distinguishable. Bobbin lace techniques can still be used for making a wide variety of shaped and straight braids some of which (eg Milanese) would be easily recognised as lace, but others are much more solid and would be described as braids. Gil >From a chilly Northumberland, where the sun is shining for the first time for more than a week - 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/
[lace] Hardwick Early Lace course Date change
I heard late yesterday that the date of the planned Early Lace course at Hardwick Hall in June this year has had to be brought forward - the room had been double booked. The course will now take place over the weekend of 9/10 June 2018. I'm really sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. Gil Dye, tutor - 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/
[lace] frogging panel
Jean Reardon mentions a frogging panel illustrated in the latest issue of 'Lace'. This is a copy of one of 56 small pieces in the Hardwick Hall collection. In the Hall's records these are described as 'oak leaves' with no reference to the original use which would have been as frogging on furnishings - probably either a bed or the corners of a heavy table-cloth. Half the pieces have a loop at one end, the others a toggle. It is worked with metal threads and a metallic strip. I used bobbin lace tools and techniques to make my copies, but could not say for sure if this is how the originals were made in the 16th or 17th century. Instructions for making the panels can be found in '*Surface Decoration in Silk and Metallic Thread*' the third in my series of books on early bobbin lace. There is a very good chance that students attending the course at Hardwick will be able to see the original 'oak leaves' and other examples of the Hall's early lace. I'm looking forward to a busy summer sharing my love of early lace. In addition to the Hardwick course in June and the Lace Guild Summer School in August, I also expect to be teaching at the IOLI convention in July in San Antonio. I am replacing a tutor who had to pull out so the course was not advertised in the latest Bulletin, but details are now on the IOLI website - go to morning and/or afternoon classes on the convention page. In any of these courses I would be happy to help students work an 'oak leaf' Gil - 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/
[lace] re vintage pattern books
Thank you to everyone who has responded to my query, either directly or via Arachne, about dating pattern and instruction books. I should perhaps apologise for not going first to the Arachne archives, but if I had done that I would probably not have raised a topic which is obviously of interest to a number of Arachne members. I wonder how many of us have copies of the classic DMC *Encyclopedia of Needle work*? and who has the oldest? I have two copies, the older one was my mother's signed by her in 1935. I now know it was printed three years earlier, since the number opposite the title page is 1032, which translates to October 1932. (Still a useful reference book despite the wordiness!) Gil - 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/
[lace] Vintage pattern books
I'm wondering if any Arachne member knows of any way of dating the numerous books and instruction leaflets published by DMC, Coats and other thread manufacturers from the end of the 19th century? Knowing the dates when patterns were published - for tatting, crochet, knitting etc as well as bobbin and needlelace - would be a great help in dating surviving lace. I have contacted DMC in France. They have responded saying that their archives are managed by the City of Mulhouse - which is not a resource I am able to access. And I have so far had no success in tracking down information from any of the other companies At the moment I am particularly interested in the date of DMC Les Dentelles aux Fuseaux (2nd series) Any help will be greatly appreciated Gil Dye In a snowy Northumberland - 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/
