TECHNIQUE OF BOBBINS LACE

The design of lace is made on cardboard fixed on the pillow. 

This motif is constituted of a multiplicity of small points, representing the future places of pins. They are all pierced before the beginning of work. 

The bobbins laces are all made from the same technique which consisted to interweave some threads, what this typical weaved aspect gives. 

Each point, constituted by one or several crossings, is fixed thanks to a pin, this one been removed when the work is finished. Of course, it existes all kinds of crossings which can be bound between them with numerous ways.

Each bobbin furnishes some thread at the lacemaker during the whole time of her work. A lacework can required a very great number of bobbins : up to 1500 ones for a lace made by a mistress lacemaker. An experience has been made with 2000 bobbins, however, it hasn't been began again, we understand why ! 

These large pins of 6.69 in are useful to maintain the bobbins the ones above the others when they are very numerous.

We must do the difference between two kinds of bobbins lace : the continuous thread lace and the non-continuous thread lace.

For the continuous thread lace, the same number of bobbins is used from the beginning to the end, in the most frequent cases. The lace is began at the top of pillow and finished at the foot.

For the non-continuous thread lace, each motif is made separately, then the number of bobbins is different. The lacemaker must add or remove some threads, according to the motive is large or thin. In addition, this lace follows the way of design. It must be realized on a round pillow.

Unfortunatelly, this photo isn't very good. This hook is particularly fine and it's used to pick up the threads in order to bind bobbins at the beginning and end of motive for non-continuous laces.