Bobbins the same weight? Well, not necessarily. I have met people who required their bobbins to weigh the very same on a pillow. To the milligram. But....that's a bit compulsive. I would say...lacemaking is more efficient if the bobbins on a project are "similar" in size and weight. The fingers can fumble more when switching from a short to a long bobbin, or from a thick to a thin, or from a light one to a heavy one.
I have mixed styles of bobbins frequently, when I didn't have enough of one kind available for the project. However, I try to keep them as similar as possible. The exception to this is for gimp bobbins. I often use a distinctly different bobbin for gimp because I want my fingers to be alert that it's not a normal thread bobbin. Thus, I can use a larger bobbin that can deal with thick gimp thread better than whatever bobbins are being used on the main project. I'm currently making a scarf that has a design inserted into every repeat with a different color for each design. When winding bobbins for all the color inserts, I ran out of the type used on the main scarf. I used what was empty, and now find myself weaving a very thin pair through the thicker ones of the passive threads. It feels, and looks, very weird. Thankfully, I will use the thin pair only a short distance and then discard it. It's experiences like this that encourage lacemakers to acquire a quantity of bobbins in different sizes. (But I have to admit that I know a couple lacemakers who have only one kind of bobbin, and they stick to their preferred bobbin on all projects.) Alice in Oregon -- where summer has come, at least for a couple weeks. Predictions are for a long hot summer. I may be very happy about installing a heat pump this spring. PS...My one new lace student is very enthusiastic. Her grandmother made lace and she's excited about learning how to do it. ----- Original Message ---- From: Sue Duckles <s...@duckles.co.uk> Do all bobbins need to be the same weight? IMHO I'd have thought not, some old bobbins could have buttons on them, different weight to glass beads.... or would one not put bone and wood bobbins together, or ones with wood beads as opposed to glass. Some ebay sellers put plastic beads on.... what do others think? - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
