I wanted to learn more about making Idrija lace and I needed bolster pillows to make the practice strips and little motifs from the book. My 'emergency' kitchen roll bolster pillow would not have stood up to much repeated use but had served it's purpose in giving me the idea of what the new pillow shape would be like to use.
Beating the traditional fillings of sawdust or cut up straw tightly into a bolster pillow did not appeal to me, so, I improvised using modern materials.
I cut a solid foam physiotherapy roller (60cm x 16 cm) in half. The one I used is solid ethafoam, some are hollow down the center. A little bag of sand, or stones could be rolled in cloth and placed inside the hollow, making it heavier and less likely to move when tensioning the bobbins.
Video on YouTube here - https://youtu.be/RkanwYrIQAM
A piece of boiled wool blanket, my favourite covering for ethafoam/polystyrene pillows, was cut into a strip a little bit wider than the bolster, enough to go around twice.
The boiled wood blanket is similar to wool felt, but thicker and more robust. You can boil wash an old wool blanket, but it needs to be thick to start with, not one where you can see the weave easily.
Pin one edge along the roller, stroke around the roll so it sits tightly, pin on top of the first edge. Repeat and secure with pins. Cut so the first edge and the last edge lay are on the same line. Sew along this edge, making sure you catch both the first and last edge in the stitch to keep the tension on the wool. Remove pins. Trim any excess from the edges.
Measure for Fabric
A.Measure from the centers of both ends.
B.Circumference of the bolster and add 2-3 cm extra.
Making -
A.Fold along the edges to make a 1cm tube to feed a ribbon through to tension and tie at both ends.
Wrap the cloth around the bolster with the ribbon tube at each end. Fold one edge over along the length of the bolster and fold the top edge under to make a clean join. Sew along the join.
Tension the ribbons, tie a knot or bow, tucking the ends out of the way.
The basket is a simple household basket which holds two partly emptied microbead 60cm cushions to cuddle the bolster in different positions.
The Idrija Lace School
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