I Tried Bobbin Lacemaking for a Week and This is What Happened

[@Financiallyfreeauthor]

I tried bobbin lace about 18 years ago and there was no KZbin! I failed hard. I’ve been contenting myself with crochet lace but now YT has been showing me bobbin lace and I’m going to try again 😂

[@bookhoarding]

You got this!

[@vmtracy]

Just stumbled on this video. You made starting bobbin lace sound really accessible. I've been fascinated by bobbin lace since the summer of 1969 when my parents and were traveling in Belgium and we saw lace-makers demonstrating their craft on the streets--I think it was in Mechelen and Bruges. They had cards for the lace shops that the worked for, and I ended up buying 10 meters of lace to be used on my wedding gown. I was 16 at the time, but I *knew* that I wanted that lace on my gown. When I married in 1983 a friend in the Theater Department at the local University designed and made my gown as a wedding gift. He used every bit of that lace on the gown. It still makes me happy thinking about it.

[@bookhoarding]

What a lovely memory! I bet it was a stunning gown. It's amazing how lace has so much meaning to folks and can be so special.

[@MarikamiLace-MalteseBobbinLace]

I am a Maltese lace maker and have been doing lace since I was 7 years old and I love it!

[@bookhoarding]

Wow! That’s amazing!!

[@ThistlenStitches]

Bobbin Lace seems like such a cool project to leave on the couch and come back and work on while your binge watching a show. Thanks for sharing 😊

[@bookhoarding]

Thanks for watching! It's a really relaxing sofa craft, which I am all for.

[@emiliabarbosa8835]

My great grandmother made bobbin lace in Portugal throughout the 20th century, amazing delicate stuff. I wish i had paid attention and learned how to do it

[@bookhoarding]

That’s amazing.

[@fondasharkey-wyatt9944]

But now with YT, you can still learn!!

[@maureenmcglade604]

I mean thank you for keeping such a beautiful intricate craft alive! This is so important for those who can appreciate it. ❤

[@KristinaHoneyHavenFarm]

I love your blouse. I have wanted to try bobbin lace for decades, but it always looked so complicated. Your title attracted me to this video. Thank you for making bobbin lace look so accessible!

[@bookhoarding]

Thank you! I hope you try it out.

[@debrablanson2288]

I have been interested in this skill for so long, I currently crochet, knit, slow stitching, quilt, beading do I need another project probably not but this bobbin lace thing is really neat and I want to learn lol😊

[@bookhoarding]

Do it! It's pretty fun and can be a great winter craft to do while watching tv.

[@gageh2050]

Ive been making bobbin lace for a while and love to see others trying it!

[@bookhoarding]

It's such a cool hobby!

[@maureenmcglade604]

Ok I just needed to stop this video and tell you how freaking cool you are!!!!

[@mnavas1883]

Bobbin lacemaking for me is the most relaxing time, when I seat in from of my pillow. My favorite type of lace is Binche. I’d been lace for over 22 years. Love it, love it ❤

[@fuyukazemi]

Definitely need to make my own pillow to get started!

[@madebylora]

I’m so impressed with how far you came in one week!!!! I first tried bobbin lace as a teenager (about 30 years ago). I got a basic polystyrene pillow and some plastic bobbins, but without some one to teach me (and definitely no internet or KZbin) I never got very far and I gave up. But I kept the pillow and bobbins. Over the years I’ve restarted a couple of times and and currently giving it another go and really enjoying it! Yesterday I turned my cookie pillow into a roller pillow using a “replacement” roller (much cheaper than buying an actual roller pillow). But I love how you did your own bolster/roller pillow so clever and it looks great!!!

[@bookhoarding]

I’m so glad to hear you’re trying it again! It can be really hard to do it on your own, but it’s really fun once you hit a good rhythm.

[@kathryncoelho2249]

Been thinking about trying bobbin lace for a looooooonnnng time. This video is helpful in that it breaks it down and I’m thinking “yes, I think I could learn this”. Woot!

[@bookhoarding]

Ooooo let me know if you do take it up!

[@marlenemorris7889]

Check out on KZbin, absolutely beginning bobbin lace. I believe that is what it is called. I have also been watching different tutorials because I really want to try this. Good luck,

[@dorithegreat6155]

I want to get into bobbin lace but the thing putting me off is actually the high barrier on entry. I do lace crocheting and that only really needs 2 things - a crochet (one time purchase and fairly cheap) and some thread, which generally isn't that expensive. Same with knitting, a wool is maybe a bit more expensive but it's still really two things. Then again same with tatting. Bobbin lace on the other hand requires a ton of bobbins and a specialist pillow. If you don't have either you can improvise but that's still makeshift and pretty crappy, and actual bobbins maybe aren't that expensive but you need at least a few dozen for a decently sized project. It just needs way too many specialist supplies to make me want to actually get into it

[@bookhoarding]

That's fair. I have done tutorials on DIY pillows because even if "crappy" people can at least get an idea of if it's worth investing in.

[@santoshaharris6551]

Try a pillow with a zipper and a piece of cardboard and clothes pins for bobbins

[@marvellousmrsmoller]

You and I have been on a very similar path! I found Bryce Adams, and Katherina too. And watched a lot of you tube videos. My Mum had left me a cookie pillow and some bobbins. I found Katherina's coloured paths extrememly useful to get my brain understanding how it all worked. I used the hearts insertion pattern she made with the plaits zig zagging and bumping into the sides, and yes, Edwardian lace blouse bodices are on my agenda too. A couple years later I have made some patterns myself and am working to make lace collars for polo shirts. Everyday pretty things Yay!

[@bookhoarding]

That’s amazing! And yes, so many Edwardian goodies to make. Perfect for featuring lace.

[@mandylavida]

I have been thinking of trying this for a while. Well done you!

[@bookhoarding]

I hope you try it out!

[@MB-tb5qp]

I bought a bobbin lace kit a couple decades ago. I look forward to get it going finally!

[@bookhoarding]

Let me know how it goes! Good luck.

[@Financiallyfreeauthor]

Me too! ❤

[@jungoogie]

You really went into detail on a number of useful topics in this video! I got a chuckle from the pool noodle. Improvisation!

[@bookhoarding]

Glad to hear it! I'm a big fan of improvising.

[@witatter1]

Your video is very encouraging. One of my goals was to learn bobbin lace. I knit and tat, and i just picked up a felting kit. But i think i can squeeze another craft in there somewhere. I love the idea of using different colored threads while learning. We do the same thing in teaching tatting! Thank you!

[@bookhoarding]

You are so welcome! And you can totally do it.

[@laurieelliott9889]

I love your enthusiasm!

[@robinbutler3333]

A nice un-boxing! Thank you ❤️

[@Soundfromvenus]

Thank you so much for this video! It's such a helpful resource and motivation for those of us interested in taking up this hobby. I will refer to this video some more in the future.

[@bookhoarding]

Glad it was helpful!

[@1949chefjojo]

Bravo! I have a bolt. I purchase my supplies at LACIS. It is cool and elegant. Whole stitch, half stitch, cloth stitch and every stitch is useful. Just do it and enjoy 😊!

[@bookhoarding]

Will do!

[@alred3600]

As some of the most beautuful historical examples admired by You and also shown in this video, weren't bobbinlace at all, and also couldn't be produced in this technique, and you also seem to be extremely quick in understanding and learning handcraft techniques, it's definitely time for the next step: learning how to do Needlelace! This even more so, as by doing bobbin lace and other textile work, You already should have almost all materials needed. And no, different than sometimes written or thought, making needle lace isn't a big or even 'forgotten' secret. It's actually pretty simple, as it consists mainly of about half a dozen stitches, all based on buttonholestitching, so it's really easy to learn, at least if You follow the line of the historic development if thus technique, first doing to do rather simple Reticella-Lace, and then slowly trying some if the more elaborate 'filled in" Point de Venise, Point de neige or the "combined" ones like Allencon lace, where You combine the rather dense classical 'italian' needlelace with a tull ground, which in this case is done by needlework too, but rather resembles bobbin lace techniques and is one of the few needlelace stitches nit deriving from the buttonwhole stich...and yes it gives on, as You already know how to make bobbin lace, you simply could use denser needlelace pieces, surrounding them by bobbin lace tull, or like in Chantilly lace, try to reproduce needlemade Alencon lace in bobbinlace techniques, which is in my opinion a bit unpractical and not too straight approach, but, like Irish crochet lace, wich more if less tried the same un a complete different technique, nonetheless was done...or You can 'cheat' like the Florentines, simply using a tull ground and embroider your lacepattern on...much easier and much less time consuming, and a critical inovation on the way to machine produced lace, before chemical lacemaking and digital laceprinting was invented. Or you can do like the people in Brussels, who somehow tend to combine almost all techniques from very simple woven bands over notted edges, Retucella, Tull, needle and bobbin lace to embroidery in one single piece of 'combined Bruxelles", the only things missing being crochet and the ominous occhi, wich - strangely enough - also seems to be the only lacemaking technique almost exclusively developed and used by bored nobels and the rich bourgeoisie, never taking real hold within those broader parts of society of the fortunate ones, who normally would produce lace for the rich and superrich...It's almost like a travesty, where the rich and mighty dressed in layers and layers of extremely labourous 'real' lace, suddenly got bored and decided to invent something much less difficult and a bit too repetetive and mechanic, where not the result, but the pure luxury of having the time to do something completely useless with the outmost precious items was the whole matter. Things going so far, that well off ladies simply pretend to do occhi, by simply moving around the little items without even using any yarn and therefore quite literally moving around the air...so it's no wonder occhi also are known as frivolité, simply because producing them pretty much was nothing than to show off to others you are so rich, that you dont have to waste Your time to produce anything useful or if ecconomic interest, by producing pretty much stirred air...Funny enough this strange distinction behaviour was imitated very fast by some other 'ladys', who always wanted to be more than they actually were, as this was and is the best tactic to attract Ruch 'customers' - this even more establishing the 'frivoulous' name and (in)fame if the occhi, even more so, as those ladues' seen to be the inky ones, really wearing and using them in a big way not only as supplement for the much more expensive and difficult to produce 'real' stuff, but also as some kind if business trademark...So, if there are still bigger stacks if occhi in Your family heirloom or even someone is still producing them, may ask twice, why and how this came and if modern day producers and users are still aware ofstrange and frivol background history and hidden sub-message(s) of this very 'special' kind of lace...And if so...if they also know such funny stories from the late 19th and early 20th century, when the 'rich' Parisian courtesans and 'madames' of the second and third rank drove home to their rural villages of origin in Normandy or the Bretagne, visiting their relatives, building little Parisian styled "hotels" and "chateaus" in the middle of nowhere, spending huge amounts of money for schools and other social institutions and beeping pretty much a highly respected part if the local gentry, wearing tins and tons of occhi lace while sitting in the first row in church beside the local manor and nobility during sunday church services, making becoming a prostitute a highly respectable and admired choice for young women (and more often than not young men too...), offering a much more prosperous, interesting and independent way of living than a live as little farmer, tenant or handyman or -woman in a remote village in the French countryside ever could offer...And yes, it were pretty much those occhi wearing 'madams' who started the French tourism industry at the seas, making their rich and unfluencial customers to built nice little holiday villas next to their own ones, including the establishing of direct railway lines between Paris and the new seaside bathing towns...Funny enough, the women of this customers often remained in their luxurious town residences in Paris, producing their own occhi and more often than not welcomming in perfect consent with their 'absent' husband, the handsome young son, cousin or nephew of one of the madames, so everything kept pretty much in the family...And no, no reasonable French human being would have thought that there would have been (and in pretty many happy marriages still is...) anything wrong if inappropriate in this kind if 'arrangements'...It's a very different world, with very different rules and values compared to the puritan misery of Britain if the US...And it's all part of the, not always so obvious and very 'delicate' history of lace, who always united beauty and cruelty, purity and sex and extremevpiverty and unbelievable wealth in a very direct, holyness and the not so holy in an often highly unconventional, spectacular and highly ambivalent and unique way, where every stich and knot had its own message and produced its own story, often hiding but even more reveling the true and otherwise often invisible nature of men, by binding, knotting, sewing and stiching together both, tangible webs and social nets in the most interesting, beautiful, unexpected and sometimes very strange and contradictional, controversial and contraintuitive but always spectacular way, done in a way, which is so far away from our modern neoliberal and highly ideologized morals and ideas, doing lacemaking and studying thebhustory if this century old craft sometimes feels like some kind of subversive cultural criticism and counter-model to our very much overregulated and incredibly rigid, overoptimized and therefore pretty depressing, colourless and boring modern life, where lace only seem to exist on as cheap, meaningless and undangerous copy and shadow of itself and the real stuff is banned to museums or marginalized as an slightly eccentric hobby without further meaning or social consequences - at least until noone asks any questions or knows, what he sees and does, or, God beware, tries to re-establish the real stuff instead it's mass produced industrial counterpart, and be it only a piece of occhi on a side table or an incredible precious and rare inherited antique bridal veil or tablecloth consisting of completely handmade lace, and beeping even more costly and distinctive than the tiara above...It's a strange obsession and power, made out purely from humble materials, human time, ingenuity, passion, and the strange beauty of a thing that is pretty much of no practical use, beside the strange ability to make otherwise invisible things like air, holes and time but also other nets and structures, like social categories, status, norms and values suddenly visible and tangible and therefore 'real' and 'surreal' at the same time, as lace concentrates Ans shows things, but by exposing and emerging automatically also veils and disguises things...strange stuff, and even stranger, when You know, how it's made out if thousands of units and stitches the Venetians call very precise and pictural as "Punta in aria" - points in plain air...

[@del6781]

Thank you for this video! I love the way the black lace looks! You picked imo the HARDEST color to use for your first same-color practice haha I find that when I tat, it's SO hard to use black because it swallows all the shadows and makes it hard to see what string is where haha. Anyway, your vid encouraged me and I just ordered some bobbins! THANK YOU

[@bookhoarding]

Tatting is so cool! Yes, the black thread was a pain. I'm considering just dyeing the lace the color I want when I'm done. I hope your bobbin lace journey is good!

[@kyang4208]

Great video! Thanks for this!

[@bookhoarding]

Glad you liked it!

[@elizabethsloan3192]

I’m so jealous! I would love to visit Lacis.

[@bookhoarding]

I’m so lucky! It’s such a great resource.

[@witatter1]

I have ordered from Lacis in the past but i guess i never realized they had a physical store to visit!

[@nilanthiwijemanna2438]

Yesterday I started with some of my pens.. the pattern is rose ground. I never thought I can do it.but I did it. I think if you want to some thing interesting don't think about too much do it now ❤

[@bookhoarding]

Rose ground! That’s a fun one.

[@slowjoy9]

Excellent tips. Bravo on your bravery and talent.

[@bookhoarding]

Thank you!

[@azulbernal1051]

What I do in order not to work with several colours, as I only like white, I put a coloured dot on each pair of bobbins, this way, I always know where each pair is.

[@bookhoarding]

When folks get more advanced it is easier to do one color

[@bookhoarding]

Ready for an intro to bobbin lacemaking? Here's a list of all the resources I used bookhoarding.wordpress.com/2021/03/10/beginners-bobbin-lace-resources-patterns-and-more/ Chapters: 0:00​-0:48​ Intro 0:48​-3:50​ Why bobbin lace? 3:50​-5:40​ How am I doing? 5:40​-10:38​ How to get started in bobbin lace 10:38​-15:03​ Tutorials and resources 15:03​-20:56​ Your bobbin lace questions

[@laurac2783]

If you want to learn alone, I would strongly recommend to get a book too besides the internet resources. The reason is very simple, in a book the patterns are printed in an actual size and the thread is indicated, it helps you to get a much better tension directly.

[@shelleylake7636]

Thank you very much 💐

[@bookhoarding]

💗

[@susanmoore6794]

I'm starting next week I got my first session with fellow embroidery colleague

[@bookhoarding]

Yay! Let me know how it goes. I hope you have fun.

[@liabowden8526]

Lol, I also took up the bobbins due to our Lady of the Lace, Elena Kanagy-Loux! I think my tip toeing into lolita fashion got her on my Instagram reccs, and of course, instant love of her style had me following her before I even knew about the lace! Gotta say tho, was hard to pay attention to what you were saying at first because OMFG, do I want your blouse!!!! Was gonna ask where you got it...🥺😭😭😭, damn. Alright. That’s fine. lol.😜 beautiful, great job. Now that all that’s out of my system I can watch the rest of the video, hehe. Seriously, gorgeous blouse. 👍🤘 It helps that green is my favorite color, in case u r baffled at my enthusiasm, but also am a big fan of *successful* clothing revamps (side eye to myself there 😭). 10/10 🤘💚

[@bookhoarding]

Heck yes! She’s awesome and it’s a super fun hobby. Sorry my shirt isn’t mass produced right now. Maybe one day I’ll make a pattern. Enjoy the video!

[@liabowden8526]

Omg, lol, I practically did the same thing, I grabbed a bag of tangled embroidery thread I had and some sewing machine thread and figured colors would make it easier on the learning process. I used clothes pins; they kind of suck. Thanks for sharing how to do the bolster pillow, the cookie I slapped together isn’t the best as it is rn. 😅 Def gonna try that. Sometimes I am So glad I live in an age when you can find out how to MacGyver just about anything from the internet!

[@liabowden8526]

💚. P.s. I regret the sewing thread! It has a ‘z twist’ which made the lace curl into a sad messy ‘rope’ 🥺😅🤷‍♀️. S twist Embroidery thread all the way, yo! (Until I have $$ for the right stuff) Have a lovely day, you lovely lady!

[@1949chefjojo]

I make my designs. I use a fine pen and I use my copy machine and cereal boxes to tape the pattern on.

[@bookhoarding]

That's super helpful to know! Thank you.

[@debrabrooks6138]

just a observance, wouldn't a dark background be better when you are using white thread for the lace? I was thinking it would to, be easy to pin a black material around the pillow or other fabrics to help seeing the thread. I also have seen Galicia Bee Designs here on you tube, and I am considering trying this . I spend a lot of time indoors since I have M.S. so this might be good for me on a few levels.

[@bookhoarding]

Lots of folks use a dark blue as it’s apparently gentler on the eyes

[@emiliabarbosa8835]

I am wondering if you recommend making bigger size work as an intro to bobbin lace. I saw a French artist who made beautiful lacey colored wool scarfs using this same technique, but way bigger and in colored chunckier wool yarns. How is this done? Would that be harder to learn, do you think? 🤔

[@bookhoarding]

I definitely think making the samplers and smaller pieces is the best place to start. Learning the stitches with fewer bobbins helps with understanding how it all works together and bobbin management.

[@hodgeh]

NERDY INSERTION LACE YAAAAAAAASSSS!!

[@bookhoarding]

One day!!!

[@biguattipoptropica]

My husband is using clothespins until we can order a few dozen bobbins.

[@bookhoarding]

That's awesome! I'd love to know how it goes.

[@biguattipoptropica]

@@bookhoarding it's going pretty well but occasionally they do snap. He's working from a Geraldine Stott we got from the library and we just ordered our own copy.

[@bookhoarding]

@@biguattipoptropica exciting!!

[@alexandrapossum71]

I hate to nitpick but the image you showed at 4:45 is actually needle lace and not bobbin lace, which is a very different process of lacemaking but just as cool nonetheless :)

[@bookhoarding]

@alexandrapossum71 you don’t hate to do it if you do it 🤗 thank you, but please rethink how you phrase your comments to be more accurate in future. For example, you should say “I LOVE to be pedantic, so here’s a correction that misses the point of the video”

[@blatherskitenoir]

Black lace always makes me think of "Madeline". There was some episode/ movie of Madeline where bad people where making orphans make bobbin lace in sweat shop conditions under the guise of running a 'finishing school', and if you acting out, you had to make the dreaded black lace, which made people go blind.

[@bookhoarding]

wow! I didn't watch Madeline but maybe i will now.

[@Financiallyfreeauthor]

I am also trying to build an Edwardian wardrobe ❤❤❤

[@bookhoarding]

Oooo nice! Good luck.

[@ViciousDeathFox]

The thread you have is a perfectly fine tatting thread

[@bookhoarding]

I keep meaning to use my tatting shuttle but it's just not something I've gotten adept at yet. One day!

[@cameronmcintyre9132]

I am 12 and I make bobbin lace and 5 more

[@robinbutler3333]

You go!

[@easilyamuzed2190]

I call it LACE-ees ( in my Texas accent).. LOL

[@bookhoarding]

I’ve heard it both ways!

[@samima_samimashean3982]

Hi ,I would like to purchase some lace

[@bookhoarding]

Sorry, I don't sell any right now! You can find some on ebay.

[@MrFWKnight]

First !!!

[@bookhoarding]

Always.

[@LVXMagick]

You hoard books and jump from hobby to hobby? I was meant to find this channel lol thanks

[@bookhoarding]

Welcome to the party

[@sumangalakesarkar7888]

Can you teach bobin lace ?

[@bookhoarding]

Maybe one day!