One Way to Wind and Hitch Bobbins

Winding, winding, winding, a never ending chore.  I have a few cases of bobbins which I always use for the first making of my own designs.  This way I don't have to worry about running out, or not winding enough pairs to start with.  Any bobbins with enough thread to rewind get put at the last row of the case so I can use them to add single bobbins, or wind on just those tiny amounts that can appear in non geometric designs.

I stick to the same bobbins too, having a consistant weight in the hands when thinking about what happens next is good, an odd weighted bobbin flicking off the pillow can distract and interfere with a thought process which is busy planning several trails, many moves ahead. 

Start with a secure wind onto the bobbin. 

The first bobbin is wound with as much thread as it will carry.  The trick is not to load the bobbin with too much thread which makes the thread wider than the head.  This can cause the thread to skip over the head and get tangled.  The second bobbin I wind only the top half of the neck, usually with a meter or less of thread.  This is usually enough for my designs, leaving me with only one bobbin with waste thread on.  The full bobbin simply refills the empty one as needed. 

Some bobbins are made with wood which doesn't seem to want to be polished glass smooth, worth remembering these, they come in handy for metallic, sparkly, thick or rayon threads which simply don't want to stay wound on the neck. Worth having a couple of pairs of rougher bobbins just for these special threads.

The winder I use is one which appeared from the magic shed at the end of the garden some years ago, a breadboard, a bit of kitchen work surface and a rolling pin had been turned into a wonderful, thoughtful present and has served me well.  The handle winds in reverse, so that  stops anyone else asking to use it!

The hitch I use developed simply by being the most trustworthy of all the different hitches I tried.   If the very first bit wound onto the bobbin is not secure, the whole wrap can rotate and this can make any hitch come undone.  Sometimes I find a solitary bobbin keeps unravelling despite the correct hitch, and the only way to correct it is to wind back to the beginning and get that first wind secure.

Do not be concerned when I say I drop the bobbin on the floor, I am not smashing the beads on ceramic tiles, or throwing the thread into muddy footprints!  There is a special little quilt just for the job, I wind so many bobbins, that this gives me the fastest way to measure.  Here's my rough guide. 

Drop from the waist - sitting = 60cm

Drop from the bust - sitting = 90 cm

Drop from the waist - standing = 1 meter

Drop from the bust  - standing = 1.25 meter. 

The weight of the bobbin hanging down from the table also helps to avoid tangles and twists in the thread.

Different bobbins, thread weights, twists, thread content, and plys can call for different hitches.  Always worth checking, when starting a new style of lace, what method is suggested at the front of the book, or how the teacher suggests.  They will know more than me about this!

My video on winding my everyday working bobbins is on you tube here

Wind and Hitch Lace Bobbins Video

Videos for the Christmas Stocking - Working the Gimp Threads

Working the top band on the Christmas Stocking using Gimp threads and spiders.

The thick, red thread on the sample is used as a single thread, not worked as a pair. These threads are called 'gimp' threads. Sometimes in laces like Honiton, one thick thread can be paired with a normal thread and worked as a pair, these are called a 'coarse' pair.

Christmas Stocking 1 - Starting and adding the Red Thread.

Start by working the first row of pins only. This can be with any edge stitch you like. I used a simple half stitch, pin, half stitch, hanging the pairs on temporary pins above the top pins. The stitches need to have two twists ready for running the red gimp thread along.

Hang the red thread around a loop above the top pins and laying the two bobbins down on the work. The red threads are not worked as a pair, but as single threads.

Working to the left or right, the same method is followed, always lift the left, pass the gimp thread over the right ground bobbin place the left bobbin back in it's place.

Working to the left...Lift the left of the first ground pair. Take the left red bobbin pass the Red bobbin underneath the left ground bobbin, leaving the right ground bobbin on the pillow. Place the left ground thread back in the same place. Twist the ground pair twice. The red bobbin is now on the other side of the ground pair, held in place with the two twists. Repeat with all the bobbins.

The red gimp thread should lay in a single thread line with two twists on either side, holding it nicely in the space between the pins. If you wish, you can alter the twists so that a gimp thread actually sits close up to the pin and next to the ground pairs. This makes a tighter outline, or even a wider 'halo' effect.

https://youtu.be/iY-yPNEOrGw

Christmas Stocking 2 - Turning and Ending the Green Threads.

The red and green gimp pairs are used as single threads, not worked as pairs. Each single bobbin follows it's own path. The green gimp threads are being thrown out (ended) and they need to lie alongside each other for several pins until they are more securely held together, being secured by the double twist on the workers and maybe a few more ground stitches before cutting them off. If they are not in the way, you can leave them until the piece is finished. Missing out the two twists between the red and green threads makes it look more like one thread, rather than two.

https://youtu.be/4-pm2jCDrhU

Christmas Stocking 3 - Crossing the Red Thread.

To bring the two single red gimp threads together for crossing over, pass one of the threads though all the ground pairs (which have two twists ready) to the opposite side. Take the waiting red thread and work back, laying the second pair alongside the first one. No twists in the ground pairs until both red threads are together and they have swapped sides. Put two twists on all the ground pairs and continue with the pattern.

If gimp threads are being thrown out, they need to lie alongside each other for several pins until they are secured by the double twist on the workers and maybe a few rows worked before cutting off the gimp threads.

Missing out the two twists when laying two gimp threads together makes it look more like one thread, rather than two. Of course if you wish to keep the two threads effect, keep the double twist between the crossing gimp threads but be aware, that's a lot of twists between two pins!

https://youtu.be/oWmGZn36l10

Lesley's Lace Blog lesleyslace.blogspot.com Facebook facebook.com/lesleyfw Facebook Group facebook.com/groups/907516516997481

.pdf available from the 'Files' Tab on Lesley's Lace facebook page. You need to be a member to access these.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/907516516997481/files/files

Firework Flower

This Cluny style design with just a touch of Muaiga, was created while playing with a program on an ipad.  This is great fun to do but doesn't take into account the practicalities of a hand drawn original design where you can see the dance of the bobbins following their paths, the program is more of a 'chuck it in and see where it lands' sort of vibe.  Lines may line up, and make a beautiful colouring in mandala, but they cannot work out how bobbin lace needs to be made.  This causes some puzzling out to be done when working the first trial piece.

Good job I like the puzzle aspect of bobbin lace making!  A second puzzle was that I had 35 pairs of bobbins to put away, but I only counted 27 needed for the piece, maybe it was all the in and out short thread ends I was using up on this piece,  let me know what number you come up with, although this can vary according to how you choose to do your own bobbin dance.

I started by adding 'magic threads' in with the starting pins because I knew I wouldn't be able to get a needle or crochet hook into the start of plaits or windmills when it came to joining the ends to complete the circles.  These are simply 5-6 inch long loops of left over thread, preferably coloured, tied at the ends which are placed through the starting threads at the pins.  These are pulled out at the end, drawing with them the threads you need to pull through the pinhole to make the tie off.

There was a bit of plait joining going on at the end, so to avoid having lumpy knots along a plait, I took the threads along the plait with a bit of rolled edge technique, throwing out the threads one by one and finishing with a 'surgeons knot' using an extra loop fed into the last thread knot.

This is not a beginner piece, it doesn't follow all the techniques relating to a specific style of bobbin lace though I would say it was more akin to Cluny than Bedfordshire lace.  The main difference is in the crossings.  I prefer the crossings which don't take the pair into the passives one side and use the existing passives from the opposite edge to go out on the other side. I find this makes the trail have a spliced look.  The Cluny style crossing also leaves the actual passives in place, very handy if they are a different colour, being used to carry gimps or colours, or short threads. 

13.5 cm  -  27 pairs -  Thread 27 wpc equiv to Presencia Finca 30, Empress Mills Cotton 50s  

The square tallies were difficult for me as I am not well practiced in making these yet, so please forgive the irregularity of them!  The two threads for the square tallies can be changed for a different colour as these are independant of the design. They can also be changed for four pairs instead of two single pairs and made into a half stitch bud to fill the space.  The angle they come in from is wider on one side than the other, this caused a little concern but I'm sure with more practice, I could get them more even.

13.5 cm  -  27 pairs -  Thread 27 wpc equiv to Presencia Finca 30, Empress Mills Cotton 50s  

Techniques:- Cluny crossings, single and double thread picots, false plaits, Square and leaf tallies, windmill and complex crossings, raised and rolled tally in half stitch ground.  Magic threads recommended for joining at end. 

If you have difficulty printing this at A4 on your home printer, you can download the .pdf  at  Lesley's Lace Facebook Group look for the Files tab for this and other patterns.  

If you print at 'letter' size, the pattern will be a little smaller, but the tolerance is 13.5 to the outside of the picots, and it should still work with the same thread size at a smidge less than 13cm

Would love to see a picture of your finished lace on my FB page.

Print at A4

Print at A4

Seed Bead Strawberry

This unseasonal Strawberry was a little diversion for me. A change of pace to use big, coloured threads and play about with beads.  The challenge came in finding the right size crochet hook the right size to catch one pair of threads to draw through the seed bead, and secondly to go through the center of the seed beads.  My seed beads were from a random bag so I don't know what size they counted as but the were on the larger size for seed beads. The thread was a magenta crochet thread, the nearest I could get to a proper red but it paired up nicely with the soft peridot green I had.  

The 'pin under four' or 'two pair edge' makes it easier to sew the green leaves to the top but a standard two pairs twisted about the pin is still acceptable. 

I started at the top left corner, this allowed me to see where the threads went before adding more.  The ones which were happy to 'bounce' off the opposite edge went back into the ground.  Sometimes I had to look at both edges to see which was the most appropriate pair to use for this purpose.  Because this is not a true geometric shape, some artistic licence has to be used and the lacemaker has the final decision to make on pieces like this.  

This piece is worked from the back.

The seed beads were added at alternate pinholes, with one Torchon stitch being pinned between each.  I used single Torchon (ct,pin,ct) but in hindsight, I think a double Torchon would have given me a stronger and thicker ground between the beads. 

 If you choose to use sequins, only use alternate pinholes to leave room for a small sequin.

Tension on the beads is important.  Make sure that there is no slack thread on either side of the bead before working the next pin.

I ran the pairs in with the passives along a straight side to finish, easier to throw out a lot of pairs along a straight edge than all at once at the point. I sewed in the last few threads at the end.

Reuse 2 pairs of the bobbins rewound with green thread for the leaves at the top.  Two versions are available, either the plaited zigzag, or the leaf tallies.   The leaf tallies are worked continuously.  Work the leaf upwards, pin and turn to make a plait back down to the strawberry where a sewing is made, and onto the next tally and plait until the last one is made when you tie off the last plait into the strawberry.  

Techniques:-  Torchon Ground (single or double). Add plait or leaf tallies. Add seed beads. Take in and throw out pairs into the edge. Add beads to darker dots.   20 pairs for ‘pin under 4’ edge, 18 pairs for single pair around pin edge.  Shown is the 5cm Strawberry using Coates crochet thread no 20. using a 0.5cm crochet hook to add large seed beads.  

Dachshund, a little dog that just keeps getting longer!

The shape of this little dog took my fancy one day, and I was about to start filling the outline with my favourite Bedfordshire stitches then I thought, why not try something different?  Torchon didn't immediately spring to mind because it isn't a lace that lends itself to organic, fluid shapes, being based on a 45 degree grid 

The 'Adventurous' series of patterns I designed needed another project so this little dog volunteered.  The long, comedic shape of the 'sausage dog' gave me the idea to extend the body, and to have an insert which can be repeated multiple times to make the dog as long as anyone could possibly want.  A bookmark?  Why not make it long enough for a belt, or an edging?

This one was made with no 40 Crochet thread, I used a thicker thread than usual because I wanted to practice making a series of video tutorials.  Sequins and some sparkly gift tag cord was hunted out and the bobbins were wound.

I learn as I work and make the decisions where threads go as the pattern progresses.  I thought it would be interesting to include the choices, and why, when making a design for the first time. 

This pattern uses only a line for the outside edge trail.  The straight lines of the Torchon stitches dictate where the pins have to be along the edge.  As long as the outside pins are kept relatively equidistant, then the edge should sort itself out without the need for pin dots. 

The dots are dictated by the ground.  The ground pairs follow the grid and where they meet the edge, or need to be added/taken out, or turned to go back into the ground is where the pins go. This changes a lot on an organic shape and the Torchon grid does not allow for these irregularities so the lace maker has to make the choice.  The outer pin is placed as evenly as possible. I have not marked the pins on this piece because my intention was to show how a piece is constantly being worked out when made for the first time.

I use a 180gsm blue card which I find is easy enough to stab my pins through directly into the pillow without the need for pre pricking.  I like to make notes and mark alterations directly onto the card during working so I don't cover with the plastic film which is used to protect prickings in normal use. This also allows me to move pins about if needed.  The final prickings are usually drawn up after my first working but on this piece, you are seeing the first working being made. 

I decided that life really is too short to spend time on things I don't enjoy so videos are made in one take.  There is no excitement at the thought of staring at a computer screen for any longer than is absolutely necessary, so editing is not an option for me.  

It is hard enough trying to make lace and talk about it at the same time that I am figuring it out, for me to refilm it all over again for the sake of an odd blooper or two.  

Please do award yourself points when you find the bloopers, I see it as a novel way of seeing if you are paying attention and all part of the learning process!  I only have a mobile phone on an old camera stand and it sometimes obscures the actual work I am making!  

The full playlist of the Dachshund videos is here    https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtaX_I87zRKXiWEIGw5d68HzykZ8NuDJr&feature=shared

The .pdf is in the Files tab of my Lesley's Lace facebook group

This prints at A4

Star Cross

A challenging mix of styles for this large, ornate cross.  My drawing was an experiment with a graphics app which repeated my lines as quadrants, ie, drawing 4 tallies at once in each direction.  This was very pleasing to draw, but didn't help with the practicalities of the direction the lace needed to work. 

Measuring 28cm from top to base, I made the main section on a round pillow then moved it to a smaller block pillow to work the tail.  Worked in Empress Egyptian mercerised machine quilting cotton (28wpc) I stopped counting the pairs when I realised there were several different ways to make this which would dramatically alter the number of pairs needed. 

I worked towards the center. With hindsight, I see I had made things a lot harder for myself than they needed to be.  The center, apart from having to take in so many pairs, was so very cluttered by the time the third arm was made and that was when I decided to make the last, longer arm working outwards from the center.

The 'Star' Milanese braid I chose for the center of the arms looked good in the book, but I was disappointed how much like simple spiders it turned out to be when I replaced an edge twist with more passives.  Originally I had designed a Bedfordshire style tally and buds motif for the infill and I wish I had kept to that. 

Working the ribs of the center flower motif proved interesting to say the least!  The petals carried, threw out and added so many pairs I was impressed that it kept it's shape.  The ribs were created by twisting the worker, cloth stitch through the center plait, round the pin on the other side and cloth stitch back to the trail. When the tip of the petal had been made,  the worker sewed into the waiting thread at the pin and carried on.  This gave me the chevron shape I wanted using only one worker pair, without having to use plaits. 

The Cluny style quadrants can be left off, they don't affect the making of the main cross.  I started working the plaited quadrants by adding pairs on both sides of the first (top) arm.  This laid up a lot of waiting bobbins when it came to starting the two side arms because only part of the quadrant could be made if l wanted to take the threads  into the edge trail. On the third quadrant, I decided not to add the pairs for the quadrants as I worked the lower edge of the previous arm, but to add them when there was enough of the new arm to throw the pairs out into. 

The final quadrant I only added after the last arm had been made long enough to fit it on.  This turned out to be the easiest of the three ways I tried and I will be a lot happier adding frilly insets after the main body is made in future.

Fortunately, the way I had drawn the quadrants enabled me to 'bounce' the plaits off the cross itself and tie off the ends inside the tallies, along plaits and the final ones I either tied and sewed in.  Two of the tallies had to be plaited on the back to make the design work so this dictated that there was a right and wrong side to the lace.  

To avoid joins in the half stitch of the trefoil edge passives (5 passive pairs, center pair worked in half stitch), I started the first three arms at the tips, and worked to the center.  I worked the forth, longer arm in the opposite direction, toward the trefoil. 

The final join had to be moved so it didn't spoil the tip of the trefoil so I left the bobbins of one side just where the Milanese braid joins a small trail.  I worked around from the other side, adding the tally pairs and working the square trail.  At the half way point, I made the center crossing and started throwing out the tally pairs into the trail as I worked back to the waiting bundle of bobbins.

Now I have tried it, I will make more use of adding sections after the main body of a design is made.  Previous work has seen me with up to 130 pairs piled up at each side of my work!  

My thanks go out to lace makers who put their videos out, help with questions in the internet groups and offer guidance in the online group meetings, nearly every time, I learn something new and my problem solving has more solutions. 

Angel Wings Butterfly (made in two different ways)

Created as a butterfly, I wonder if the wings would work on their own, stiffened and attached to a figurine, maybe making an angel, or a fairy?

This 2020 pattern was made to practice tallies and experiment with variegated thread. This extravagant butterfly gave me plenty of practice and I was glad to finish it! 

Start with two small tallies and work plaits to create the antennae.  Add 2 pairs at the top of the head as a worker and a passive and take in the two plaits to form the head.  Work the thorax in half stitch, or cloth stitch with twists to widen the ground. The first and last pairs are worked in cloth stitch.  Add two pairs at each pin down one side.   

Add 2 pairs at the top of the head as a worker and a passive and take in the two plaits to form the head. 

Work the thorax in half stitch, or cloth stitch with twists to widen the ground. The first and last pairs are worked in cloth stitch.  Add two pairs at each pin down one side.  

When I made this butterfly originally, I added the pairs onto both sides as I worked the body.  This created a large bundle of bobbins which did not need until I had finished the first side.  In hindsight, I should have sewn in the second side after I had completed the first side. 

Another option is to make the body first by adding an extra two pairs for a two pair edge (pin under 4) and making a rolled edge (a Honiton method) then sewing the wing pairs in as I needed them. The body can be made in a variety of stitches.

Each plait needs two pairs adding.  Working away from the body, more plaits are added to the wings.  The picots on the windmill crossings were worked one pair before the windmill, one after.  This can be replaced by the Honiton method featured in 'Blossom' ground. 

The non tally plaits crossing the wings are taken back and forth, crossing the trail worked between the two wings, then carried along with the passives at the outer edges until they work back across both wings to the other outer edge.  

On the last section of tallies, the biggest boxes, an extra two plaits in variegated thread are added.  These two pairs make the extra tallies which zig zag through the final two tallies and create a need for an 8 pair crossing. 

While working the last row of boxes with the extra tallies, the middle tally, which has come from the body, is taken into the edge (or tied off if you wish).

The nipped in point between the two wings is where you can finish by sewing the larger wing's edge into the smaller wing edge. The trail between the wings  continues working around the outer edge of the smaller wing to join at the sharp point. 

I asked another lace maker to try out this pattern, and, with only the pricking, this beautifully graduated was made.  Sybille Zapf made this in a completely different way to me, using the European style tape lace methods rather than the Bedfordshire methods which I use.  This method meant far fewer bobbins were used at any time, and control over colours and remembering what goes where is improved. 

The outlines were made first, with the strands of tallies and plaits worked by adding then taken out by tying off into the edge trails.  This method is more forgiving in using strong colours which one would not want to have to add into the trails to remove. 

A wonderful use of fine wire used by Sybille in the antennae and around the edges and body made the butterfly poseable when taken off the pillow.  A great idea which really brings the lace alive when mounted.

An A4 pdf is available from the Files on my FB page 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/907516516997481/

These need to print at A4. If your printer decides otherwise, down load the .pdf mentioned above. 

Giraffes - A Milanese Lace Challenge -New Giraffes added as they are made.

The online bobbin lace group I enjoy socializing and learning with has chosen this rather sweet pattern of 11 giraffes made in Milanese Lace.  This is a bobbin lace which uses few bobbins, usually a dozen pairs give or take a few.  

The swirls and interlocking ribbons of the designs marry with the precise, geometric patterns to create some of the most fluid and beautiful modern pieces of lace I have ever seen.  I wanted to use Milanese Braids very early on in my lace journey and have only now started to approach them and these little sampler bands working with 11 different Milanese braids are an ideal introduction. 

Giraffe 1

The first little giraffe started fine, a bit of double edging and cloth stitch for the head to get the confidence up, then into a relatively simple, straight edged band of 'Lotus'. So far so good. 

Here is the playlist of the 5 youtube videos I made to help our Bobbin Lace Along facebook zoom group.   

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtaX_I87zRKWuzSJOWTQ1fhYMYTvV8D6B&si=zhBkAaniGapKNjO2

ttp://www.kantmetklossennl/ http://www.kantmetklossen.nl/

Bonny Van Bergan kindly donated this pattern for free and it is in the 'Files' tab in the 'Bobbin Lace Along' facebook group, her other lovely patterns are available from   h

https://www.kantmetklossen.nl/op-het-land

Giraffe 2

The second giraffe proved a little more difficult.  We had to learn how to make a Milanese scroll to make the head bend at the neck.  The 'Fish number 1' braid was easy enough to make but I made a mistake when drawing out my own, narrower version for making the video.  I have marked on the diagram below, the two twists I missed off my little sample pattern, but on the video I corrected it as I made it.   I made the 20 minute video in one take (I don't do editing), so I just made a note in the comments and carried on. 

The more I learn, the less I feel I know about this delicate and challenging fibre art. 

https://youtu.be/c7v0fdOkWyU?si=ccSf04gb-rCQwyN_

Giraffe 3

To be continued...

Larger loop for picots.

Different ways of making a larger loop for picots.

The Bobbin Lace Along FB group are making Bonny Van Bergan's Milanese lace 'Family of Giraffes' as a group learning experience. The giraffe horns are created by making a particularly large, round picot. This lead to some discussion about how these can be made.

The options were:- a thick divider pin, four standard pins tight together, a standard pin with a bugle bead on, and to wrap paper around pearl head pins.

My thoughts: The divider pin is ideal, but is most likely to leave a hole in fabric/foam pillows.

Cluster of standard pins, not really a round shape, may leave a hole.

Bugle bead, ideal if you buy the good ones with heat smoothed ends, the cheap ones (like the one I tried) have sharp, uneven ends and I would worry about cutting the thread if it slid underneath.

Paper wrapped pearl pins. A half inch strip of paper at the top of the pin. I used the scissorribbon method for curling the paper to start, double sided sticky tape to fix and roll up with one sided sticky tape on the outside. Pushed into the pillow, these were the best option, and can be made to fit any size needed. The pins will be covered in sticky residue if the paper is pulled off so best to make a couple and keep them for this purpose.

The pattern for the giraffes is available as a free download in the 'Files' tab of the Bobbin Lace Along facebook group.

Lace Bobbin Book Case

This handy bobbin case zips can double up to also hold books, threads etc as well as all the bobbins, ideal for classes. 

I use a tapestry weight fabric for the outside, one or two layers of microfibre or polar fleece for the padding, a plain cotton which will show off the bobbins and thread, and fancy fabric sleeve strips. 

The outside fabric is 70 x 42 cm.  All the other layers are all cut 2 to 3 cm larger to allow for trimming.   The zip needs to be min 80 cm to allow for turning in the open end at the top, and to have enough to sew a tab on at the join.  A longer zip could, if you wish, continue along the top seam and completely seal the case.  A 1/4 inch seam allowance is standard.

Turn sleeve strips right side inwards and sew 1/4 inch seam along the length.  Iron seam flat.  Turn inside out.  Press. Sew 1/8 inch seam along both long edges for strength.

Place the fleece layer between 2 cotton layers, only one layer will be visible so you can use any old cotton on the reverse. 

Find the center line of the cotton/fleece/cotton layer.  Work outwards from the center and place strips 8cm, 10cm and 8cm apart.   Pin each end and along the strips. It is important that these do not move about.

Sew 1/4 inch line around the outer edges including the strips. To avoid bunching, use a walking foot on the sewing machine.  If you don't have one, add more pins and watch the layers don’t creep.

Start at one edge and sew the sleeves with a 2cm spacing to fit Midlands spangled bobbins in pairs. Test your bobbins and adjust if needed.  For my Rosaline bobbins, a 2.5cm sleeve fitted each bobbin.  

Start the top sleeve with a small stitch. Sew the reverse and forward starting stitches, and a locking reverse stitch at the lower edge.   Lift the needle and repeat on next sleeve strip down. The thread is not cut until the bottom of the 4th strip is sewn.  Trim before moving back to the top to sew the next four sleeves.  You can sew the 2cm all the way down without stopping between sleeve strips if you wish. 

Place the zip around the edges.  Snip the zip fabric a little at the curve to help it bend.  Cut a little curve around the bottom two corners to help the zip go around.  Test out the zip!  It should meet at the same place at the top corners, if not, repin and test again.  When sewing, make sure the zip doesn’t creep.

Use 1/4 inch away from the teeth to sew the zip to the ‘quilt’.

Place the top fabric (double check this is the right way around) face to face with the sleeve side of the quilt.  Leave a 20 cm gap along the top, non zipped edge for turning it inside out.  Sew all the way around with a 1/8 inch seam allowance on the zip, 1/4 along the top edge.  

Turn inside out. Check the zip closes nicely.  Sew the top open edge close. 

Use ribbon or make two handles from the same fabric to make the handles. 

The case can be used fully open, or if space is at a premium,  fold in a zig zag manner to expose each strip of bobbins as you need them. 

I organize my cases with full bobbins at the top, with the left over and gimp threads at the bottom.  

I have used these cases full of bobbins to also add books, threads, fold flat baskets etc for travel.

Any size for any where fabric baskets

 I love these fabric baskets, they always squash so nicely into a drawer. They fold flat when empty and  are made to fit exactly what goes into them.   Here’s the way I make them.  

The size of the rectangle and how big you cut the corner squares dictates the finished size.  The larger the corner square, the higher the sides.  

Start with the size you need for the base, add the height of the sides and seam allowances, this makes the starting rectangle.

Pop a zip across the top if you want a fold down basket that will carry lots of stuff. Add card for an even stiffer base. Make one slightly larger than the other to make a lid. Lots of ways to play about with this basic design.   Enjoy. 

Ten Colour Trails

I found a new menu in one of my design programs so just had to have a go.  Not as instinctive as drawing by pencil but very tidy when it came to mirroring and repeats.  

Designed with a 'radial' option, the lines I drew were mirrored and repeated around an 8 section disc to make the design with 4 full repeats consisting of two mirrored eighths in each.  Although this created a Cluny style pattern, (obviously very Muaiga), the practicalities of making it didn't quite work out as well as a hand drawn pattern this time.  

A time consuming hand drawing uses the brain to see ahead, figuring out the joins and crossings of the threads and the handy speed of the program drawing lulls one into the false sense of security because it looks so very neat and tidy!

The printed design felt almost like someone else's pattern so I used my coloured pens to identify the trails and see how they worked out.  I quite liked the coloured version so I set about winding all the matching threads using Empress, Sylco and Tanne.  They all worked happily enough together and I had a few already wound, left over from previous projects. 

Due to the variety of colours, there was no opportunity to run pairs out or through other trails and all the crossings had to be linked at the corners to keep the whole thing together.  The choice of which colour to keep on top while I worked would make it the underneath colour once turned over, so I decided to spend time at the end sewing ends into tallies to make it double sided.  It can show either side as a top side.  

The choice of colour dramatically forces some trails to the fore, and to make again in white, or maybe ombre shades of one or two colours as they go into the center would give a very different look to this pattern. 

Bobbin Rafts from Yew Scale Ruler

This time I played making bobbin rafts using an old, yew wood, scale ruler.  These were commonly used by designers, architects, machine inventors, model trains, draughtsmen and more when a large thing like a house had to be reduced and shown accurately as a drawing. 

Bobbin Lace Rafts at Work

They had to be excellent quality to take the lines marking the tiny fractions that each measure was split into.  Yew wood quality far exceeds the beech wood used for making school rulers.  I had to throw away an old ruler which didn't even measure inches properly for fear of using it by mistake!

Over the years I have squirrelled away a few light hearted tools in one of my craft drawers.  I always enjoyed making things, but age has a way of making you more careful, avoiding injury is better than time spent recovering.  The most useful is my little Archimedes screw drill.  The incredibly slow speed is controlled by light pressure on the end and it will take the smallest of drill bits for my little projects. 

Demoted several times, my big scissors have served me well and have been replaced several times so, I have no fear of using them in a way that will horrify most crafters, as you will see in this video.

The hacksaw has a fine blade.  I see it as a necessary evil, it can make short work of skin!  The trick is to draw it smoothly across the wood, not to 'saw' away like in the movies.  Too much pressure simply tears into the wood and makes it hard to hold still.  Watching a tree surgeon gave me the idea of cutting from both sides of the ruler, or using a saw on anything for that matter, because it reduces the splintered, jagged edge which often appears on the opposite side.  The narrow 'hinge' in the very centre is the last bit to be sawn and can be snapped apart easily, leaving the edges neat. 

Sandpaper is measured in 'grit', the size of the abrasive dust on the backing.  Start with the coarsest (lowest number) grit, you can feel easily which that one is.  They start about 50 grit which is like sand, and go up to 3,000 which is like hard velvet.  Many places sell a selection in a pack quite cheaply.

Link to the video on youTube of my antics this time is here:-

https://youtu.be/gUEKMAvIOZE?si=nnUsjs0f2S-5V9LQ

Broken Bobbins made into Divider Pins

Get the safety gear out folks!  

I made this video on how I make divider pins from broken bobbins and fancy little bits of wood turning.  

The Archimedes screw drill I use has been very handy for playing about with this sort of thing.  I also use it if the hole for a spangle isn't big enough for the way I spangle my bobbins (I thread twice through the hole then twist at each side, some people just thread one wire through).

I do like a fine needle for my dividers, so I found most are happy with a 0.7mm drill bit.  If this does end up being a bit loose, I thread the needle, touch lightly with a bit of Superglue and then fit that in.  The two lengths of thread can be sliced off when the glue is set.  

The 'proddlers' as I call them, also known as stillettos, take a much wider needle, sometimes you can find very thick pins about 2mm wide which do a good job.  The narrow pins are made differently to needles, they tend to bend and break rather than flex so a needle is always a better choice. 

Needles which have the eye as narrow as the shaft are best to use, the ones with the wide eyes can split the wood when forced in, and the sharp end tends to have a bit of a wiggle if you drill large enough hole to fit the wide eye. 

Bone is really hard to drill, I haven't managed to drill one successfully yet.  I am not allowed to play with power tools, so broken bone bobbins are not something I can manage to make dividers out of. 

When I am putting the needle into the hole, you can see in the video I place it upright on the table, simply because I'm used to doing it that way.  The block of ethafoam does have some bobbin size holes for shoving the bobbin bit into to hold it upright if you find that easier.  

The little nylon hammer I use is a lightweight even by little hammer standards, I tease, rather than hit the end of the pliers to help knock the needle deeper into the bobbin, this is not where you want to split the wood so you are feeling for the needle to hit the end of the hole.  

The sandpaper I use to smooth the sawn off end is a 400 grit, you could use an emery board if you have one handy.  Sometimes the sawn end is a different colour wood to the rest because polish or accumulated handling will have deepened the colour of the grain.  To tone down the newly exposed bit, use some beeswax, a bit of oil or, in one experiment I tried, a bit of moisturiser!

Remember when the video goes in and out of focus, frustrating I know, it is hard for a mobile phone camera to maintain focus on small things, it keeps trying to focus on the larger areas. 

I am not excited by the thought of spending my life tweaking videos, tied to a computer screen instead of making lace and enjoying life, so I make the videos in one take, usually the first one gets enough information across for me to upload that one.  If it helps you in some small way, then that's enough for me.  

Link to the video here:-

https://youtu.be/FvNkhskQnXA?si=HtBYo3Ag1Gdc3oge

Christmas Stocking with Photo

I never thought I would be the one to post a Christmas related pattern in August but it does take longer to make bobbin lace than most hobbies when it comes to making such delicate lace decorations. 

The traditions of the Christmas Stocking varies a lot, depending from where you source your information nowadays.  The main tradition as a child was to have some 'stocking filler' presents to keep the little ones quiet till it was a more reasonable time for parents to get up. 

 

The stockings, or socks, can now be bought as huge red sacks pretending to be socks to stuff more things in, completely ignoring the original traditions and stories which I think is a shame, we lose so much empathy in the race to go bigger and better.  For me as a child, it was one of my own socks hung at the end of the bed. Contents varied little from year to year, a satsuma, a little bag of peanuts and raisens, and coloured crayons which were replaced with a fountain pen as I got older. My brothers got a little car, or lego in theirs, I preferred my pens!

This simple Torchon pattern can be enlarged to be made with thicker crochet thread to give a more solid feel.  

If you feel brave enough, use the blank stockings to pop in some spiders, change the ground, make stripes of half stitch and cloth stitch, dot some rosegrounds about. 

Ideal for covering in sequins and beads, use coloured and sparkly gimp and edge passive threads, just chuck everything fun at these little stockings. 

This prints at A5.

Start by placing 2 pairs open around all the top pins.  Half stitch around the pin. 

Place a temporary pin just below the top row of pins and hang four pairs of passives open(You may leave these out if you wish).  Twist one pair of the passives around a pearl headed pin and push into the pillow.  This will maintain the tension as you work the other passive pair. Cloth stitch the two left pairs towards the left side. Do not work the last pair. Repeat on other side.  

Each ground pair should have a twist ready for the half stitch ground.  Do not twist the passive pairs. 

Take one pair from each pin and half stitch, pin, half stitch (Torchon ground) across the next row. 

At the edge, use a temp pin and hang one pair on each side.  Work hs, pin, hs with the edge pin outside the passive pairs and cloth stitch back through the passives into the ground. 

Work the ground and stop before the gimp or passives which will surround the three spiders as shown.   (You may leave these out if you wish).

Add four pairs of passives open around a temporary pin at the top of the centre block, cloth stitch through these to the outer pins of the blocks as shown by the coloured line.  Place a twist on all ground pairs, not the passives.

If you choose a thicker gimp thread (single thread) add an extra twist before lifting the left hand bobbin, pass the gimp thread between the two ground pairs and place two twists afterwards.

At the final center point where the passives/gimp meet, cross them and work a little way back upwards along the line of the existing passives/gimp. Throw back the pairs for cutting off later when it is easier to tension them after more ground is made.

If you have used two passives, throw back one bobbin at a time to reduce thickness. 

The edge passives/gimp make a crossover in the center (doubling the thread) and continue back to the opposite edges to continue down the stocking.  One pair on each side will need throwing out where the stocking narrows after the top section, this can be knotted, or carried alongside the passive pairs and thrown out after half inch or so.

If you are working in one colour, throw out the edge passives after working along the crossover.  This means you can use the ground pair as the new passives which you would otherwise need to throw out at the bottom of the first section where it narrows.

The heart can be worked either by starting at the top two points, working to the valley pin where one pair will take over as a worker and the other worker becomes the center ground pair, or diagonally from one side where one worker remains constant.  The second option is best if you wish to change the colour of the heart ground.   

The foot:-  add pairs from temporary pins to work the edge pair, through the passive and into the ground.  

The heel:- work to the last pin inside the passives, take the pair which is to be thrown out and work it to the edge, hs, pin , hs with the outer worker and the outer worker returns to lay on the inside of the passives.  The next pair to be thrown out on the diagonal is worked out to the edge, hs, pin, hs with the outer worker which returns to lay on the inside of the passives and so on.  This is the way the bottom edge is also worked.  

Colour Chaos in Muaiga Cluny

I use my favourite white thread for the first test making of my patterns.  This makes it easy to experiment, carry threads, cross trails, and swap workers if thread runs low.  Coloured pens were used to identify the possible trails on this pattern and I quite liked the effect so I jumped straight in with loads of coloured threads to echo the pen colours.  

Gorgeous colours of cotton thread.

Little did I suspect how complicated this makes a new pattern, more like a Rubik's cube than a piece of Muaiga Cluny!  Colours had to be carried inside tallies, thrown in and out with little thought to all the rewinding to be done, and dizzy eyes when I left the pillow.  

The threads I used were mostly Empress mercerised Egyptian cotton, an old, gorgeous green Sylco and a pale peach Tanne.  I also had to mix my bobbins from different sets as I raided my cases for left over prewound coloured threads to use. 

My Muaiga Cluny pattern being made in Colour

My usual blue pricking card (though I dont preprick as I don't know where the pins need to go until the tester is made) was not suitable for this piece because the blue threads were too similar in colour, which would make them invisible to work with.  I chose a dull cream which worked for the colours, but was harder on the eyes.

The first section is now made. There are a lot of 'leave it and come back later' points where I couldn't continue until a crossing was made at another point so all the trails have to be worked concurrently as they interlace.    The interlacing points is where the white thread is very flexible, the ability to change pairs at any crossing makes it easier to blend and minimise obvious carrying of threads over and under.  Colours don't make this as easy so I have had to make a feature of the crossings as a design detail. 

Alien Space Ships

Playing about with Triangle ground, which is also known as Pagoda stitch, I thought they looked like space ships.  The ones with wobbly legs look like jellyfish but that's a whole new pattern I have yet to explore. 

Years ago, when I was learning the basics of bobbin lace, I would watch youtube videos and must have worn a groove in some by pausing and replaying tiny sections!  One of those videos was a Jenny Brandis tutorial on triangle ground.  Having mastered the triangle, I tried to include it in every Torchon bookmark I created from then on.  

Triangles can be used in both spider blocks and as ground.  Triangle ground can be made to point in either direction or in mirrored lines to good effect.    

Increasing the number of passive bars makes a stronger triangle but also makes the legs much longer, this has to be considered when making the larger ones because the longer legs don't tend to hold themselves straight when unpinned and can be a weakened point in the lace.  Within the square block, there are some pin holes which are not needed, the center one and the ones between the 'legs', if you see dots there because the triangle was drawn onto a dotted card, don't worry, you haven't missed anything. 0.

 My Alien Spaceships bookmark is just a bit of fun, hoping to encourage newer lacemakers to experiment with this stitch.  Starting off as the small one bar triangle, they work up to a three bar triangle.  Scattered about are small 4mm sequins, another handy technique to master, but these do not need to be added.  

Around the edge I added an extra two mixed pairs which work as edge passives using 1 cotton, 2 sparkle, 1 passive. The sparkly pair are edged with the stronger cotton thread because Sparkle thread tends to stretch a little bit so don't try and tension it too much.   I added these by placing a temporary pin between the outer pin and the next row along the top, hang 1 pair of cotton, two pairs of sparkle, one pair of cotton.  

Twist the threads on one side (two pairs) around a pearl headed pin a couple of times and secure deep into the pillow, this will give the other half of the same pairs something to tension against.  This can be done at any point along the top edge but traditionally it would be done at a corner because Torchon is usually made in a diagonal direction.  These passives do not need to be added, they are purely decorative. 

Each triangles is worked in it's own square block, sometimes I change the stitch surrounding the block to a double Torchon stitch just to give a little definition, but this time I wanted the spaceships to stand out so I kept to the half stitch, pin, half stitch ground all over.

Here is the link to my YouTube video on making Triangles 

https://youtu.be/38p02Or0ZQI?si=uhMvGYnAFgjM6REL

The pattern is also in the 'Files' section of my Lesley's Lace Group facebook page. 

Triangle or Pagoda stitch.

Triangle or Pagoda stitch being worked in bright crochet thread in the video so get your sunglasses ready!

This unusual Torchon ground stitch made with one bar, to me, looks like a teeny space ship. When it is made with 2, 3 or more bars, it starts to look like a Chinese Pagoda. Using a single triangle block makes an interesting alternative to a spider.

Triangle ground can be made to point left or right. In my video, the triangle is given an extra bar, increasing the block size to 5 pin x 5 pin. More bars can be added by repeating the steps, this also means that the legs on the second half of the triangle will need more twists as they lengthen.

If adding one of these to existing Torchon ground, remember that you will not use all the pinholes.

This stitch is used as both a 4 pin and a 5 pin block in the 'Ellie the Torchon Elephant' pattern available in my blog and in my FB group.

Video

https://youtu.be/38p02Or0ZQI

Facebook facebook.com/lesleyfw Facebook Group facebook.com/groups/907516516997481