#lacemaking talia learns bobbin lace

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I drew out a little kats stitch fan pattern to try out a little larger to see if it could work as a decorative edge on my purple corset

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To no one's suprise handmaking the lace edging for my corset is slow going, but the result is shaping up to be worth it!

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I'm trying out some tape lace butterflies! I want my 1902 gown to have a butterfly theme, so I'm exploring different options for butterfly decorations. The real ones will be of thin thread that matches the dress near perfectly, to capture that simple elegance feel of a Worth Gown that they so often achieved by having several different but closely matching textures.

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My lace is nearly done! I just have to unpin ot and cut off all the little threads that are left over from running out of thread and having to start a new bobbin. I'm so excited to see what it looks like when it's done!

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I found some more pins but I still don't have quite enough for the whole sample. I'm doing Kat stitch, named after either Katherine of Aragon or Saint Catherine, patron Saint of Lacemakers. It's a really nice pattern, simple and quick:

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My lace is done! It's the first full strip of bucks point I've done and the first self assembled pattern. I made it to fit on the corset I'm making, so I really really hope they'll look well together!

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I finished the first wing! On the next butterfly I'm going to add more thread, I don't quite like the gaps that fall at the top curves of the wing. Won't be visible when it's on the dress, luckily

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I read that you could use sewing machine thread to make lace, so I did some torchon ground with some red thread and it turned out so incredibly delicate!

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First the full cloth stitch, which is basically weaving. Tension is hard, but it's strangely meditative.

Also, the bobbins clacking against eachother makes the most delightful sound:

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I have decided to give tape lace a try, so made a little celtic knot for my mother.

I really like doing this! It's constantly doing cloth stitch so there's a lot less thinking involved compared to the bucks point patterns I've been doing where you switch stitches half the time.

[badassindistress]

Today is exactly the kind of day to do some gentle research and sort craft supplies, so I've spent this morning looking at my lace bobbin collection to try and match what kind of lace they might be for:

These are my favourites to work with right now. I have 18 pairs, they are made of boxwood/buxus and make a very nice clicking sound. I found them for sale as Majorcan Lace Bobbins.

Then I have 20 pair plus a spare of these, but they are not all identical. Some are different wood, although most are elm/iep. Some are darker and shiny. Not a clue of the origins of these, so my best guess is something British since the previous owner was a British lady residing in France I think.

For some reason this set has 4 pair plus a spare of large ones and 11 pair of otherwise identical much smaller ones. They look closest to bobbins for Belgian lace as drawn in the illustrations for this book.

This one pair reminds me of the wooden honey dippers you sometimes see in brocantes. I’m pretty sure these are for Belgian Malines/Mechels lace.

This one is absolutely gorgeous and I’m sad I only have one. It looks like the victorian/antique bobbins I see for sale and there’s a hole for a spangle so I’m reasonably confident it’s a British bobbin.

These are also British! And more specifically, they seem to be Honiton bobbins. I think there’s two or three sets here, since I’ve got burned geometric pattern, painted flowers and seasonal text and burnt and painted little woodland creatures. The Honiton Lace Guild seems pretty adamant you could never make Honiton lace without these bobbins and since the set came with some Honiton Books it makes sense there’s 13 pairs plus a spare here.

These two are so smooth and pretty and a very distinctive shape. I’ve seen them sold as Duchesse Rosaline bobbins and just Duchesse. Duchesse comes from Belgium and I’d love to try it someday.

These are nog quite the same but have similar enough characteristics I grouped them together. The book illustration and the fact I bought them from the South of the Netherlands make me pretty confident these are Belgian, probably either Valencienne or Malines.

And then we have this large and coarse one. It’s large and uneven and might be homemade. Not a clue where this one is from, it doesn’t match anything I’m seeing sold in lace schools or etsy.

Thanks for joining me in this little research and sort spiral!

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I've moved onto spiders and I'm really pleased with how much my lace is improving. You can't even tell where I knocked over my pillow and had to sort out all the random knots and twists!

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Now this is much more like it!

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Alright, time to make some ballgown decorations! I'm making a midsized butterfly to go on the skirt. I'll probably make as many as i have energy for in different sizes so they can fly up and down the train

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I'm merrily continuing on to a fan pattern. Fans and scallops are the parts I was most excited about so I hope it's fun!

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I made some big lace!

@nianeyna gave me the advice that it's easier to understand bucks patterns if you just make them big first:

It's really quite helpful to be able to see what you're doing, who'd have thought!

I've found some more intricate patterns I want to try so I'm definitely gonna make them big first!