Comment

Comment by Sue Babbs on January 21, 2012 at 10:22am

I thought I'd start off this thread by posting the sort of information I normally give to novices who ask questions online:

You can learn from a book, but it is one of the more challenging textile arts and a teacher is helpful.  If there are no classes near where you live, then absolute basics for learning are:
Pillow
Minimum of 30 Bobbins
Pins
Cardstock
Thread
Beginner's book

I would recommend:
"Beginner's Guide to Bobbin Lace" by Gilian Dye & Adrienne Thunder

It was a new publication last year and is incredibly clear. It covers
equipment and techniques, with photos of each step, and is available from Amazon..

Some lace suppliers in the USA, which spring to mind quickly are:
http://www.lacysusan.com/index.html

http://www.vansciverbobbinlace.com/

http://www.snowgoose.cc/

Snowgoose's kit is very good. If you think about getting this, I would suggest getting the 18" pillow, as the
16 inch is too small to be any use in the long term.

Lacy Susan carries very good quality square bobbins: international square pear bobbins - they are continental but don't roll because they are square! This makes them much easier to work with than continental bobbins, less pretty than English Midlands, but a lot cheaper than them! When I last looked they were $17.95 per dozen. They are nice and smooth to work with.

 

I understand that the kit which one can get at JoAnn's or Lacis is not adequate for more than the initial lesson, and so isn't worth the money. I have not seen it, but I have seen a lot of comments on it, and mine is the polite, sanitized version!

 

Another useful site if you live in the USA: http://www.internationaloldlacers.org/index.html

 

If you live in another country, you may well prefer to belong to that country's guilds.

 

Sue

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