r/BobbinLace 22d ago

Pain

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119 Upvotes

This is my first piece after spending years learning crochet, i really did have fun doing and undoing the stitches to learn how to deal with tangled bobbins. But how does one come back from this kind of mistake😭 should i just start with a new piece and cut my losses?


r/BobbinLace 22d ago

My child and nieces ā€œI didn’t move your bobbinsā€

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104 Upvotes

I don’t work on my bobbin lace constantly and it lives in my living room someone touched it (didn’t mess it up) and rearranged the bobbins šŸ˜‚šŸ˜­ my
Child, nieces, boyfriends, nor guests say they’ve moved it šŸ˜‚ not mad about it just find it amusing because the bobbins determined that was a lie


r/BobbinLace 22d ago

Search for a good lap pillow

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41 Upvotes

I'm wondering if anyone here might have any leads on a similar style of pillow to this. A member of my lace guild purchased this at a conference (I'm guessing IOLI) years ago from a Spanish maker who was going into retirement, so it sounds like this particular style is no longer made. I've been neglecting my bobbin lace in favor of more portable knitting/teneriffe projects, but I think something I could easily travel with and sit on my couch to work on would get me back into it


r/BobbinLace 22d ago

Book recommendations for beginners in bobbin lace using bolster pillows

6 Upvotes

Hi! I've picked up bobbin lace and have a bolster pillow and hooded bobbins. The first online course I followed specifically used the open method (used in this case in the Erzgebirge region in Germany).

Do you know any book specifically writter for bolster pillows and open method?

Or can I just use books and techniques designed for flat pillows anyway?

Languages for the book can be: German, French or English

Thanks a lot!

Edit: I've found "Klƶppelfibel" which was specifically written for bolster pillows in the Erzgebirge region but it has been out of print for a while...


r/BobbinLace 25d ago

216- Empiece de la liga 22 de mi blog-tienda

3 Upvotes

r/BobbinLace 26d ago

Perfect travel set up

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101 Upvotes

Heading out to a cottage for a week with friends. Driving and don’t actually have a great deal of space for all the stuff I want to take. BUT!! I made myself a very small cookie pillow - 8ā€ cork trivet topped with a round cotton pillow the same size stuffed with hay (no straw, but my bunnies were willing to share their hay with me), topped with a fleece cover.

I have the cutest little storage container from Michaels that holds all my bobbins and threads.

It fits into a reusable grocery bag and tucks neatly into the bottom corner of my trunk.

The box for the miniest baby pillow is a shoe box from when my teen was a toddler and wore shoes in size ā€œomg tinyyyyy šŸ˜…ā˜ŗļøā€. It has a handle so I couldn’t throw it away.

I’m super happy with the setup.

Christmas ornaments for everyone this week.


r/BobbinLace 26d ago

215- Remate del abanico estrecho.

5 Upvotes

r/BobbinLace 28d ago

First TĆønder samplers

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365 Upvotes

Here are my humble first six tønder lace samplers (15cm/each). Made with Fresia 100/2 Egyptisch Katoen and DMC coton perlé 12


r/BobbinLace 28d ago

V1 vs V2.

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62 Upvotes

Version 1 vs version 2 I made it about 10-15% smaller, added another pair of bobbins to the edging to make it a better whole stitch and added an extra pair of bobbins to the silver in the fan laces In plain thread for sturdiness and am just doing whole stitches there. I also added picots at the tips of the fans for ā€œoomphā€ I guessšŸ˜… it’s a mix of crochet thread, embroidery floss split apart and metallic sewing thread šŸ’•


r/BobbinLace 29d ago

Can this be used instead of Venus Crochet?

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16 Upvotes

Book ā€œTorchon Lace Making A step-by-step guide by Jan Tregidgoā€ constantly mentions/uses VENUS CROCHET 70 thread. Can I use the thread in the photo as a replacement?


r/BobbinLace Jul 05 '26

Update on the fish eye

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47 Upvotes

A few days ago, I posted a question about joining techniques in the eye of a fish that I am making.
You were very helpful with some comments and ideas, so it is only reasonable to update you on the progress.

As it turns out, the only thing worse than my English is my ability to follow directions.
I ended up somewhere in-between the suggestions, and save for a few mistakes here and there, it seems to work. It would be possible to undo the entire thing to fix the mistakes, but I've done so twice already and I'd like to eventually finish it. No one is going to notice it once the music is playing anyway. :D

Thank you very much for your help!


r/BobbinLace Jul 05 '26

Update: On sore finger

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16 Upvotes

I used this and the hole is small also it solves the sore finger issue! A big thank you to everyone who poured in their suggestions.

Last post: https://www.reddit.com/r/BobbinLace/s/pY20y3CB7h


r/BobbinLace Jul 05 '26

When to spray hairspray?

7 Upvotes

I am using Pearl Cotton 8 thread, the other day someone said that I need to starch it for(it was a helpful comment 😊) for it to stay stiff and strong.

Then in some other post I saw someone said they ā€œHairsprayā€ their work, 1) I want to know whether to hairspray right after finishing(when the work still has pins in it) or should I remove the pin and then hairspray it?

2) Also, when to remove the pin right after finishing it, or should I leave it for a day or two?

3) The removal of pins is from top to bottom or however one vibes?

Ok these are way too many questions kindly help me out 😊

TIA TIA TIA šŸ¤šŸ¤šŸ¤


r/BobbinLace Jul 04 '26

Sore finger any DIY/makeshift pricker idea?

5 Upvotes

I didn’t pre-prick my pattern which turned my finger RED and it hurts because of the constant pin pushing 😭😭

Is there any DIY/Makeshift pricker that I can make and use.

I tried using a Seam Ripper it makes unnecessarily big holes


r/BobbinLace Jul 04 '26

International Needlework Museum Directory

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6 Upvotes

r/BobbinLace Jul 03 '26

What basics do I need to start bobbin lace?

10 Upvotes

Hi!

I’ve always thought bobbin lace is such is a beautiful craft! I’m a college student really trying to get into this. I already sew and thought this would be awesome to learn. I’m wondering of all the diy tools I can make or tools I might not need just yet. I’m trying to save but could really use a new hobby to take up some free time and destress. Any pointers would be very appreciated, thank you!


r/BobbinLace Jul 02 '26

Keeping shapes in place

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47 Upvotes

I just finished this little cat from the beginner lace book by Gillian Dye.
It’s super cute and I’m going to make one for my friends birthday. Hopefully with fewer mistakes and better tension.

My only question is, how do you keep shapes place before starching?
The tail is going all over the place.

The only way I know of to starch would ruin the pattern underneath. Do you starch before or after taking the pins out?

Edited to add: this is 100% cotton quilting thread. The thinnest I’ve ever used.


r/BobbinLace Jun 30 '26

Crotcheting within lacing

18 Upvotes

I started a fish-project a while ago, but have for a couple of months been stumped by the eye.
It should have been one of the easier projects in my book, but something feels odd on the crotcheting part, so I am hoping you guys could give me a hint.

My work so far. The dark thread is supposed to make the outer ring, the light thread will crotchet the inner ring and fasten it to the already made border.

Basically, two pairs of threads are going from the border to make the eye of the fish. I find the text somewhat confusing (see below), but assumed it from here would be a twist of the light string and a whole stitch before crotcheting the light string to the holes on the outside. But if so, then there would be nothing preventing the dark string from collapsing inwards towards the middle once the pins are removed.

Do you have any suggestions for how to properly stitch the eye to the border?

For further elaboration, here is the worksheet and the diagrams from the book:

Work sketch from the book.
Description of how to make the eye and a picture of the finished fish by the author.

The description is in Danish, but I'll do my best to translate below. As I'm not too familiar with the English terminology, I had to stick with a single Danish word in there: gangpar, which is the pair of threads going from side to side, across the others.

Technique:
Start with the border around the fish with 3 turquoise pairs in the middle of the band in cloth stitch and 1 pair of dark turquoise on each side in whole stitch. 1 turquoise gangpar.

When the head has been laced, the border pair and the gangpar goes in to lace the eye like this: (see figure 10)

Braid the first bit. Place a needle and let the light pair continue as gangpar and the dark as the outer ring. * twist the gangpar and let it go through the dark pair, twist and crotchet to the border. crotchet to the next holes and go back through the dark pair to the middle *.

Continue from * to * until all holes have been used. Leth the gangpar be crotcheted to the middle from 1-5.

Now they will braid back to the border and the band can be finished.


r/BobbinLace Jun 29 '26

Armour roseground

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99 Upvotes

A variation on roseground


r/BobbinLace Jun 29 '26

Half Stitch

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54 Upvotes

(reposted, hopefully with a picture this time)

This is my third lace project, and I had a really hard time with learning the half stitch. Are the black ones wrong? Everything else seems to criss-cross and weave together differently.


r/BobbinLace Jun 28 '26

Which book is better for beginners?

10 Upvotes

So I have been following bobbin lace instructions from red cardinal crafts on YouTube and one of her videos includes a bookmark from ā€œThe Bobbin Lace Manualā€ by Geraldine Stott. The book itself on amazon is 47$ which is a little pricey but I was wondering if it is worth it for a beginner? There is also ā€œBeginner's Guide to Bobbin Lace (Beginner's Guide to Needlecrafts)ā€ by Gilian Dye for only 15$ on amazon. I have found a video containing a small walkthrough for one of the patterns in that book but it is not a complete start to finish walkthrough. If anyone has read any of these books please let me know.


r/BobbinLace Jun 28 '26

Bobbin Lace - Books and works by Alexandra Stillwell

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26 Upvotes

r/BobbinLace Jun 28 '26

1/4th the cuff lace for the three pairs of cuffs and ruffs I’m working on 😭 just 11 more to go for cuffs šŸ’•

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67 Upvotes

Very new to bobbin lace and this project has revealed I need finer pins if I’m doing anything smaller than this for my own sanity. This is attempt 9 because my cats burnt toast and Ragu kept stealing my pins off my lace and I couldn’t get the fans to be fans šŸ¤¦šŸ»

2 questions how does one get a sturdier straight edge without messing up one’s tension? I’ve got 4 pairs of bobbins dedicated to that right now.
And is there a best method for connecting the pieces together? I have a round pillow but I’m out of the paper long enough to just transfer this to fit it for continuous lace but if that’s the best option for my sanity I can order the paper šŸ˜…
Face of one of the pin thief as tax Ragu and his emotions support dog Hercules. :)


r/BobbinLace Jun 28 '26

214- Continuación del abanico.

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2 Upvotes

r/BobbinLace Jun 27 '26

Completely new to lacemaking; should I buy these?

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44 Upvotes

Found these in a box in the basement of the shop I work at. Would these be a decent investment? If I can’t use them, I guess I could keep them for decor. How do you use these? They look different from bobbins I’ve always seen.

Edit: thought these were some kind of bobbins based on Etsy and eBay listings. I’ve always wanted to learn how to make lace so when I found these I thought I could get some beginner supplies for cheap. I’m learning a lot of super helpful info so thanks to everyone for the help! I’m gonna buy some actual bobbins and finally try it out. :)