Bobbin Lace

Create a Post
S

smorrisrus

Grumbler in Training
Joined
May 13, 2002
Posts
3
Loc
england
I have a bobbin lace to frame.

Any suggestions on how to mount it.

I have been told to place it on a piece of velvet and place the glass on top.

not keen on that idea

Stuart
 
Stuart, welcome to the grumble. As a craft/artist I have many friends who do bobbin lace. It is utterly amazing to watch someone do it. It should be treated pretty much like a crochet piece. It should be stitched mounted to a board, and if not matted, should have spacers to keep the glass off it.

Betty
 
What you suggest is the easiest way to get a nice look, even with moisture concerns.
You can reduce the chances of condensation problems by using plexi, acrylic or styrene, instead
of glass.

Otherwise, you will have to do some sewing. I reccommend using a chenille or other plushy
material, not just a velveteen or suede.
Place your lace where you will want it, and stick pins into the backing at points that you will
want to tack down to support the piece.
(on small pieces of lace, you can get away with just doing the corners, and maybe one in the
center)
I like to use dissection needles for this part, they are sturdier than straightpins, but just as slender.

Push the pins all the way through the backing, so that you have holes to sew through. Remove the
pins, and you are ready to stitch your lace in place.
The ideal thread is one the same material and color as your lace. If you don't know, don't worry,
just get "invisible thread" at the fabric store. It's like very fine fishing line.
Start from the back, loop around the thread you are tacking down, and go back through the same
hole. On lightweight items, you can just tape the ends of the thread onto the back of the backing.
Tape an end, fold the last bit of it back over the tape, and tape it again, to prevent slipping.
If your sewing holes still show when you are done, you can use a toothpick to tease the fabric
backing over the holes to cover them.

To make centering your lace easier, use a larger piece of backing than you need, and then trim it
to fit.
 
OK... Now I have to ask. How can changing the glazing change the amount of moisture in a package? As far as I know, the chances of condensation rely compleatly on the amount of moister in the air, combined with the fluxations of temerature. This can not be changed by changing the glazing.

Please explaine.
 
Sue I guess the difference would be in the speed at which the glazing changes temperature, in relation to the atmosphere on the inside, it will have less condensation build up due to the conditions on the inside having more time to adjust.
my two cents, though two cents don't get much nowadays
Lance
 
Moisture causes problems in two ways.
Simply its presence can encourage mildew and mold to grow.
But, quicker and uglier is water damage caused by moisture condensing on the glass. The reason the water condenses on the glass (rather than on the molding or mat, or whatever) is that glass conducts radiant heat more slowly than air. So, if you expose a piece to heat in a moist environment, the contents of the frame heat up faster than the glass and you have a distillation effect. Moisture in the paper fibers exaporates into the air in the package, and condenses on the glass.
Plexi, acrylic and styrene conduct heat differently, so are less likely to provide a cold surface for water droplets to condense on. Also, their molecular structure is less "attractive" to water molecules. (This is why "anti fog" bathroom mirrors are made of acrylic. Try it sometime! Take a piece of glass and a piece of plexi into the bathroom with you when you are running hot water, and see which one steams up first.) You can also see this in the way water reacts on their surfaces. Water on glass tends to spread, and cling at the edges, while water sprayed on plastics beads up more.

Using plexi instead of glass on items without spacers won't eliminate this problem, but will reduce the likelihood of water damage on the front of the piece.
Glass with spacers eliminates the risk of water damage, but neither eliminates the problem of internal moisture encouraging mildew.
 
Originally posted by HannaFate:
.
To make centering your lace easier, use a larger piece of backing than you need, and then trim it
to fit.
Click to expand...
I center all of this type of needleart from the back side of the mounting board. I pencil in the margin lines that I want to leave around the needleart to determine where the pinning should be and mark centers on all 4 sides of the board for guide marks. I then lay the needleart reversed on the back side of the board (if it has a directional pattern or lettering, you want them to be running from left to right when you sew them on the opposite side)and push the pins through from the back side. Turn the board over, lay the piece right side up and continue as Hanna has directed. (These crocheted names are a cinch to mount centered this way also.)

Question: is "bobbin lace" the same as what my mother called "tatting"? Just curious. She did alot of it and I never knew another name for it.

FGII
 
Originally posted by Framerguy:
Question: is "bobbin lace" the same as what my mother called "tatting"? Just curious. She did alot of it and I never knew another name for it.

FGII
Click to expand...
No it's not the same. The bobbin lace I've seen done is worked on a pillow-like base. It has bunches of bobbins that hold the strands of thread which are then (for lack of a better word) braided together. The first time I saw it being done, it reminded me of macrame done with very fine threads.

Tatting is done with a tatting shuttle and is worked in your hands.

(And this "sewing" info from someone whose kids think if it can't be glued, stapled, or duct taped, Mom doesn't do it!)

Betty
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Betty.

BTW, we missed you at the show this weekend. Sorry you couldn't make it but I understand the reason.

One of these times we'll have a meeting of the 2 ol' hippies! ;)

Framerguy
 
Originally posted by HannaFate:
Ooooh, Framerguy! That's a great trick on centering lace! Have you written that up for Decor? (or did you get it from there... heh!)
Click to expand...
Actually, neither. It just made perfect common sense to me about 12 years ago and I have always done it that way.

I found that, with most hand made fabric art/thread work, the pieces are rarely symmetrical. (Which separates them from those machine made copies, which are). By turning the mounting board over and placing the needleart piece on the reverse side of how it will look when finished, marking such things as the mat border/margin widths, center of all the sides, and approximate placement of any rounded corners or points, it makes it a breeze to mark the placement of the stitches. I use push pins to stretch the pieces in place on the back of the board which also gives me automatic holes to lace/stitch the needleart in place from the front side.

I'm sure that there are probably faster ways to do this but I have no trouble with the technique and it doesn't matter if the originator put an extra point around the crocheted name or if there was no apparent symmetry to the piece. No matter how it is shaped, you can mount it perfectly by doing a "dry run" on the back of the mounting board with pins and the fabric piece before starting to mount it.

Framerguy
 
Maybe I'm being a little dense here (nothing unusual about that), but I always lay it out on the front of the mounting board and do that. Of course I don't pencil in lines or anything, I just measure it out. When I push the push pins down through the board the little "pooched out" bit of the board is on the back side.

If I'm doing something horribly wrong by doing that on the front, don't yell, it's way too early to listen to that this morning. (Sinus headaches, etc).

Betty
 
I've always wondered why framers stitch textiles to matboard - is it because you work with matboard a lot and just naturally turn to it, or is this a taught technique? I don't see anything wrong with it per se, it just seems like a lot of work punching all those holes.

I was always taught to stitch to fabric and, as a long time sewer, it just seems more natural to me to use fabric as a mounting base.

The first method I was taught involved stretching a (washed) mounting fabric over a wooden strainer, and then stitching the textile to that.

The second method I learned was to make a padded, (washed) fabric covered backboard (described on the Grumble under "mounting a thin black silk batik" or some such title) and then to pin or stitch the textile to that. I use this method the most as it is easy, and I like the textile- on-fabric aesthetic.

With the padding, having ethanol-cleaned Plexi (never glass!) directly on the textile is ok but not generally necessary - spacers or window mats are usually used.

Now for me, mounting is as far as I go - then I sent the client to the framer. But this brings me to the question of fabric wrapped mats - I'd love to see more framers use fabric wrapped window mats for textiles - to me, paper matboardslook too flat/harsh with textiles.

Any feedback on these musings?

Rebecca
 
Originally posted by Rebecca:
I've always wondered why framers stitch textiles to matboard - is it because you work with matboard a lot and just naturally turn to it, or is this a taught technique? I don't see anything wrong with it per se, it just seems like a lot of work punching all those holes.

I think the main reason is that most picture framers don't have a lot of practice sewing fabric to fabric. Sewing to matboard is a surer way to get it flat and straight in that case. Also, there is no need for bars, which makes the package a little smaller, allowing for shallower moldings.

Now for me, mounting is as far as I go - then I sent the client to the framer. But this brings me to the question of fabric wrapped mats - I'd love to see more framers use fabric wrapped window mats for textiles - to me, paper matboardslook too flat/harsh with textiles.

Click to expand...
I'm with you on that! I always start out showing the customer fabric matting with fabric pieces. Often, they don't want to spend the money, and go for regular mats. I'm usually dissapointed by needleworkers who get chintzy on their framing, after all, they have spent so much time on the thing, I want to really show it off for them!

Also, in New Mexico, I always reccomend glass of some sort. There is just too much DUST around here! If they really want it open, I'll offer to scotchguard it for them.
 
Rebecca - There are two reasons why I sew doilies, lace, ect. to matboards:

The suede boards are rigid and the surface has some tooth that helps to support the lace and keep it from sliding around.

But mostly, it's because mat boards are what I have on hand with samples right there on the counter to show the customer. If they want to bring me fabric for mounting, that's fine but I don't want to finish a project and hear "No, that's not quite the shade of green I had in mind".

It's not because I'm uncomfortable sewing fabric to fabric - you should see the embroidered bodice on my Captain English outfit.

Kit
 
Thanks -

That all makes sense.

I'm begining the see some of the frustrations involved in being a framer! Conservators have their own sets of frustrations (uncooperative artworks and stinky tape removal being top of the list!) but usually by the time someone finds me they realize they're in for some kind of expense.

I do think you might find the padded backboard a timesaver though - especially if you use the pinnng technique. If any one is interested I'll send a little sample one made out of scrap, so you can see firsthand if it would work for you. Just e-mail me.

And Kit, I am looking forward to seeing you in full Captain English regalia - do post a pic!

Rebecca
 
Create a Post
Back
Top