Weighted Bolster Pillow.

Learning to make Idrija Narrow Lace from a person who knows this specific lace intimately has been quite an eye opener.  It appears to be a simple lace, but looks can be deceptive.  The techniques needed to make this lace, and many similar tape laces, are different to the more intricate laces I am used to, such as Bedfordshire, Cluny and Torchon. 

The biggest difference is the number of pairs used, starting at only 5 pairs for Idrija.  This means that this lace has to solve issues like pointed corners, curves, joins and crossings, without the option of having many pairs of bobbins to play with.

Putting the technical lace making bit aside for now, this tape lace is traditionally made on a bolster pillow, though to start you can use a cookie pillow, it doesn't take much to make a bolster.

I don't have the option to make sawdust or straw bolster pillows, much as I would have liked to, so I turned to what was available. 

I found an ethafoam exercise roll (15 cms x 30 cms) was an ideal size, but was too lightweight to tension the threads properly because it kept being pulled around the table!  Idrija lace needs strong tensioning, and the thread used is stronger than normal lace thread of the same size to allow for the enthusiastic pulling about. 

I ordered an exercise roll, with a hole down the center.  Unfortunately I ordered a polystyrene one instead of ethafoam, a casualty of online poor photo and description.  This would only last a few patterns before the pins would start to destroy the little beads which make polystyrene foam.   The weighted ethafoam pillow I already use only had a couple of wraps of boiled blanket and works well but the polystyrene pillow would need to avoid having pins in it so I needed at least 2-3cm thickness of wool 

A wider diameter pillow would accomodate larger patterns, so I went ahead and sacrificed a well washed quality wool blanket.  I cut this into long strips a little wider than the bolster, machine sewed each strip using a zigzag stitch to make one long strip.  To keep the tension nice and tight, I stood on the other end of the blanket as I rolled it around the bolster.  

The blanket edge was pinned and a running blanket stitch taken across to hold it in place.  I could have placed extra layers of a finer wool felt over the top, but I wanted to make sure that this would work as a pillow first.  I can always go back and add or change layers as long as the foam in the center is unharmed.

To weight the bolster, I cut 4cm strips of left over blanket, but have used strips of rolled up cardboard before, wound tightly to fit like a cork into each end.  Place the first one, glue if you wish, and fill the core with your chosen ballast.  

I chose a load of glass bugle (tube) beads which had sharp ends and had proved impossible to use in my lace because the sharp glass edges kept cutting the threads.  If nothing else, I had found a use for them! 

 Anything will do to weight the pillow, pebbles, sand, beads, spoons, as long as they are secure and evenly distributed.  Aim for 1-2 kilos finished weight.    I popped the other wool cork into the other end.  I cut two discs from some old yoga mat to fit over the ends, either glue or temporarily hold in place using pearl head pins, I pinned these in place and got on with the top cover. I didn't use glue in case I want to remake this. 

The cover is measured around the circumferance plus 5cm and the width is measured from the middle of the circle to middle of the circle.   The center to center edges are folded over about 2-3 cm and sewn along the edge, making a channel to thread a ribbon through after the fabric is fixed to the bolster. Check your channels don't meet in the center of the circle, they need to be drawn together with the ribbon at the end so you need space to pull the ribbon tight. 

I like a plain fabric, often navy or deep mauve, but many people like to use fancy patterns on their fabric which would distract me so much, but its always fun to see on other peoples bright pillows.

Iron or thumb press an inward facing fold about 2-3 cm from one end.  Pin the unfolded end across the bolster to create the starting edge. Wrap the fabric around, stroking it to get it as tight as possible, then pin the folded edge over the start edge.   Make a running, or ladder stitch across the bolster to join the two, don't worry if you take up a little blanket with the cotton cover.  

Thread some fine ribbon, or string, into the longest needle you have, or a safety pin, or other handy gadget.  Using the eye end, insert into one end of the sewn channel and gently feed it all the way through. Remove the pins holding the yoga mat disc in place.  I like to tie a knot and cut the ribbon off, so I can do both ends with the minumum of ribbon used. 

I didn't worry too much about trimming the edge of the blanket, I like that it gives softer edges if it isn't too precise.

This is just one way of making a weighted bolster pillow, using items to hand or easy to source.  I never make a pillow the same way twice!

Boiled wool blanket-  an old, thick wool blanket literally put through a boil, or hot wash at least once.  It will felt up and shrink, making a dense, heavy fabric.  If the blanket is too thin, or contains manmade fibres, it won't felt up.   I know people have used acrylic fleece and are happy with the results, so do feel free to experiment.   

Test the 'pin-ability' of your chosen materials by wrapping a cotton cloth around a ball of fleece/wool and see how a pin will hold if you are tensioning a thread against it. 

Darling Dearest Cat

This design is inspired by Bastet, an Egyptian goddess who was depicted as a cat.  This one prefers to sit around practicing her imperious look and air of disdain...yes, she still thinks she is a goddess!

Size 16cm high . Approx 34 pairs gold colour cotton thread 27-30wpc, 4 pairs Goldrush Metallised  (trails). 1 pair Gutermann glitter thread (changes colour for each tally)   Techniques - square tallies, leaf tallies, adding colour, planning ahead.  The order of the ‘gems’ will alter as the piece is turned over.

I often suggest that the lacemaker may like to choose different techniques than those I have used.   I see this as part of the fun of making lace.   Sometimes, there are better ways of working some areas than shown in the photograph of my finished piece, which is often the only one I have made.  

The designs I make are from my own drawings first, then I have to make the lace fit the drawing so I sometime have to mix up lace styles and use my 'Muaiga' style lace making where I Make It Up As I Go Along.   Maybe I should do that in gem tallies....😁

This pattern is not really suitable for beginners.

I struggled, due to my lack of experience, with the intricacies in the first version of this pattern which I first made back in 2021.  Armed with a little more experience, I decided to have another go in 2026.  

'Darling Dearest Cat' hides within the jewels, a hidden acrostic message.  Acrostic rings were developed in France in the early 19th century using the initials of gemstones to spell out a word.  Acrostic jewellery is often given as a romantic gift or to form a secret message. Several different gemstones can used for the same letter to avoid repetition of a colour. 

I started off with the word 'Darling', only to find that this is not one of the usual acrostic words so I had to use a bit of imagination, and the help of the Bobbin Lace Along Zoom group,  to find the jewels and create the colours available in limited range of glitter threads to match the initials.  The iolite had to be made with the blue and purple glitter threads worked together to make it different to the amethyst and lapis lazuli threads.

Darling = Diamond, Amethyst, Ruby, Lapis lazuli, Iolite, Nephrite (jade), Garnet.

Dearest = Diamond, Emerald, Amethyst, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, Topaz.

Cat = Citrine, Amethyst, Topaz (blue)

Because cats do not always respond to being enthusiastically fussed, I also used a cat language acrostic.  

Sssss = Sapphire, Sapphire, Sapphire, Sapphire, Sapphire, as a warning hiss!

I used a selection of threads, the thick glitter variegated gold/black passive in the trails and edges was an unlabelled crochet thread.  The jewels were Gutermann Sulky glitter threads, the cotton making most of the background was an old Dewhurst's Sylco cotton in 'Mustard Gold'.     I couldn't use the magic thread on the tallies to pull the ends back up through the tally because the glitter thread is too 'grabby' but it can simply be cut off at the end and, unless you intend to wash and wear the cat, it does hold without knotting. 

The copper dots on the back leg use a pair of glitter threads as the worker, the centers have some twists on the workers to ensure the ground is solid around the edges. 

I used black Gutermann glitter thread to make the tally of the eye, just before removing from the pillow, anchoring a short plait before and after the tally to make a more stylized eye.

To finish on the scroll of the tail, I used a Bruges technique where one passive pair loops around each center worker instead of using a pin.  This pair tightens up and I then used it to make a bundle with the remaining threads and stitched it to the back of the piece, out of sight.   

The thick gimp threads in the collars were simply cut off, the glitter helps to hold the thick thread in place and avoids the need for knots. 

The earring was made separately after the cat was removed from the pillow.  This is because it needs putting on and sewing closed at the back of the ear.  I used 3 passives in mustard gold cotton, with Lurex gold thread used as a worker. As the earring widened, I introduced twists to the Lurex worker only to make as much shine as possible.  I would be tempted to try a pin under four (2pair) edge if I made it again to increase the gold.  

Did you spot this?  My darling dearest husband asked if the cat was pointing the right way.  To my dismay, I had forgotten that the piece would need turning over to leave the knots and cut ends out of sight so the 'wrong side' is actually the side where 'Darling' is spelled the right way around.  The order of the collar tallies should be reversed.  For someone who professes no interest at all in my lace making, he is remarkably observant!

The thread I used may be hard to find!

The downloadable .pdf pattern sheet is in the Files tab on my Lesley's Lace facebook page.

The A4 .jpeg can be copied from here, or my Lesley's Lace facebook page.

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This pattern must only be shared in its original form and cannot be sold.

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Have fun!