The time has come for me to master the slip knot occasionally used in some types of lace making. The bobbin lace I prefer uses a new thread laid into a trail while the short end thread is discarded, or a pair added at a join and a pair removed. This means no knots are needed.
Video here - Joining Threads in Tape Lace
The tape lace I am currently learning, uses a different method. It uses a strict 4 passive trail and a thread laid in and one taken out would weaken the trail. This tape lace is used, washed and worn again, so any unknotted threads would not be secure.
Many laces are still made by hand, Idrija being a well known style. The presence of an occasional knot is not seen as a fault, quite the opposite, it is seen as a sign that this is indeed a hand made piece rather than machine made.
The popular way to wind the tape lace bobbins is to wind as much as possible onto each bobbin. The large pieces of lace made of continuous meandering curves and loops needs plenty of wound thread to start with. The workers use a lot more thread than the passives.
In most bobbin laces, it is easy to swap a worker getting low on thread for a passive with more thread but in tape lace, this would create a hole in the trails, and possibly throw the tension out on the many bars and corners.
This handy knot is used to give a secure hold to the joining threads. The loose threads can be cut quite short, something I prefer to do when a piece is finished, the little ends show when a knot is coming up if thread is being used up on a second pattern.
