Hands Down

Day 123: Hands down, bobbin lace is a delightful form of needlework, and "hands down" is the key to being able to create lace quickly and efficiently. Although in beginners, there is a strong temptation to lift the bobbins from underneath, the palms of the hands should be turned to face the bolster, not upward. This allows the needlworker to quickly pick up and exchange the positions of two adjacent bobbins, either "crossing" them to the right or "twisting" them to the left. Occasionally, you will find an instruction book which reverses those two terms, so pick a method and stick with it while keeping that in mind. There are no knots in bobbin lace, only weaving of the threads over and under one another. Additional twists may be added to paired bobbins to give more stability to open areas of the lace.

Bobbins are most often made of wood and come in a variety of styles. Some artists prefer to weight the ends with beads to keep the bobbins from rolling on the bolster, as well as making it easy to identify pairs. The lace itself is formed over a paper pattern called a "pricking," and is held in place with pins at the centers of each stitch. Most pattern books simply provide pricking diagrams which must be transferred to cardstock or other firm paper. The paper is pricked before it is mounted on the bolster, making it easier to insert pins at the appropriate spots. Here I am working with sewing thread, "ship's hawser" by bobbin lace standards where finer threads are the general rule.