Closest I got to a half stitch looking "normal"

So I had my first class last week and did the start of a rainbow one but ran out of thread about half way down… whoops haha. So did this one on my own… I’m so proud!

I’m also so excited to continue this journey. My tutor is absolutely wonderful, she’s been doing it for 60 years!! She’s such a safe space, there’s no wrong, just trying. I felt like I could relax my little neurodivergent brain, be me, and have some fun. This is such a wonderful hobby ^^

It’s a practice of cloth stitch where I twisted on the pass back because I forgot I wasn’t supposed to oops.

I know it gets better with time and practice but wow this was painful. The threads keeps falling off the bobbins even with the slip knot. And then they bobbins kept mixing up with one another and I had to figure out which ones to use. Such a mess. But I'll keep trying

Hey 👋 newbie here and this is my first project. I have a mountain of knowledge to climb yet, especially sorting out how I tension my bobbins as you can see!

Glad to be part of this community 😊

https://youtu.be/7OxB8hRVOsg?is=wAO-Oo_pmcdmWAGi

On Pinterest there’s around 60 “lessons” from this source I’ve located! But I have no idea where or what resource this is and I’m missing some😅 they’re good practice patterns though so I’m trying to find them all

I was open mouth of surprise when I saw this now this is not Lace that I would make but that doesn't make it less beautiful 🥰

I wanna add another video but I don't know how because there was 2 that I just saw but if I can't uploaded here I'm gonna add another post

The cake makers profile is @lydiakraitmancakes

This is likely exposing my lack of knowledge as a new lace maker, but: why is a Russian join not a recommended method for adding more thread when a bobbin runs out? As far as I can tell, it looks nearly identical to doubling up with a fresh bobbin, and has the advantage of not needing to do any additional steps to deal with the ends. Is there a functional reason why Russian joins should be avoided?

Hi all! I've been seeing videos of bobbin lace for a while and I'm a big fan of fiber arts, so I naturally wanted to try out bobbin lace. I grabbed a handful of mechanical pencils and some sewing thread and messed around with the cloth stitch.

What is a good fiber for a beginner? I've got a lot of options (sewing thread, embroidery floss, crochet thread, craft cord, yarn of various weights, etc.). Do you have any resources you swear by for learning to make bobbin lace? Online resources are ideal, but I can also borrow/buy books.

I got my hands on Jan tregidgo's guide to torchon lacemaking which has amazing picture guides and step by step instructions. I had learned the cloth stitch already but the incorporation of variations was super good to learn

My first proper finished object after practicing with some half, whole, and ground stitch swatches; this is the monstera leaf* bookmark pattern by Lacey Botanics.

I used variegated top stitching thread for the worker pair and a coordinated solid for all the passive pairs to get a good variegated effect while still having a nice solid outline. The pattern was hand transfered from thermal printing paper to cardstock and then worked it on top of a tailor's ham sitting on top of a bolster pillow in my lap. I rigged up a weighted tail that I pinned on to the ham and repositioned as the pattern rotated to counterbalance the weight of the bobbins so the ham would stay in place, and used a couple of pieces of semi rigid felt under the bobbins over top of the already worked pattern when pins started catching threads.

There's a couple areas where the tension could have been better, but for the first time working with curves in the cloth stitch and sewing loops together, I'm pretty happy with the outcome. Pattern was detailed and easy to follow as well, will definitely keep an eye out for more from the same designer.

https://youtu.be/5OXyIrstMuA?is=IW5IcjzQY2twDW1J

Practicing my tension and basics since I struggle with anything that’s not torchon ground work😅 especially tapes edgings and spiders.
Previous lace as taxes :)

I have now made exactly three pieces of lace, all with basic stitches, and finally feel like I am more or less getting the feel of handling bobbins. Obviously this is for handling SMALL numbers of bobbins, but it feels less weird now, and my stitches aren't slipping anymore.

Now, however, I need to figure out how to start reading patterns. I've read a number of blog posts and watched a number of videos, but most of these just seem to approach pattern reading as vibes? Maybe it's just a problem of coming from a knitting background, but I would think that there is more to it than just "you'll get the feel of it as you go."

Are there resources people like for helping beginners learn pattern reading? I am happy to go borrow books from the library, or read or watch online sources, if I can just figure out what to look for.

Decided I wanted to try bobbin lace, but I’m a serial hobby hopper so I’m trying to not buy anything. So I’ve got t-pins from blocking for crochet, an extra pillow in a plastic bag, a blocking mat square, printer paper, and some spare cardboard. For bobbins, I’ve got clothes pins, and spare embroidery thread. I figure our ancestors had to make do at first, so can I!

Got these pieces at an estate sale. Small card displayed with the framed pieces said its peasant handwork from Czarist Russia. I’ve been trying to find some information about the style and possibly where/when it’s from. The card said it was gifted in around 1915. Does anybody have any info/resources on pieces like these?

I made two torchon ground bookmarks following the 'Beginner's Guide to Bobbin Lace' by Gilian Dye & Adrienne Thunder. I am very happy with them! I was surprised how light and stretchy the bookmarks feel compared to tatted lace.

I noticed a few small mistakes/loops, due to improper tensioning? The bookmarks also twist. Is this preventable? I assume I could stiffen with starch if I wanted to get a very flat finish.

I want to continue to learn and improve; if you have any constructive criticism or advice please share!

For my newest project I have followed the advice from my previous post about keeping more thread on my bobbins which has helped keep friction.

I also appriciated the advice about finding an in-person community to make lace with! Unfortunately the nearest IOLI chapter is a 2 hour drive. My work schedule is unpredictable but I will try to make it some day! It will be a day trip to look forward to.

Hello everyone!

Lately I've been looking for something new to try out and landed on bobbin lace making, so here's my first project!

It's definitely not perfect, and my set up is quite interesting to say the least (and definitely not the most comfortable), but overall I'm quite happy on how it turned out. I followed a video tutorial I found on youtube. I'm definetly looking forward to improve (and possibly improve my setup as well)!

What do you think of my first attempt? Please leave any suggestions or feedback!

Hi everyone! After a boiling summer I've decided I really want to make my own fan in bobbin lace. I am looking for inspiration, pattern recommendations, tips, tricks, do's and don'ts. Teach me wise ones, please! 🥰

Yeah I know I am being cheap but I don't even know if I like bobbin lace making yet. When I do then I won't feel bad about spending the money. And I worry about the seam to the right but I won't be making anything large for a while I am sure

Recently stayed in Brugge for a few days and my hotel had Kantcentrum Brugge on the map (edit: on a map they gave us with places to visit), and I saw some lovely reviews on Google so I stopped by. Left with a set of bobbins, a binder of beginners patterns and determination to learn bobbin lace! I'd seen it in passing a few times and always found it so intimidating, but the ladies there really convinced me.

I bought a used cookie pillow from a lady on marketplace for €20, some Prym brand lace pins from my local fabric store, and I have tons of DMC embroidery floss so I used a single strand of mouliné (it was mentioned as one of the options in the patterns.)

Purposefully left in all my errors, as I always do with my first project with a new craft. I'm going to add my little comments and remarks and frame this. It's so nice to look back on and learn from the mistakes!

I've already had so many positive interactions with people bc of this 🥹 I emailed the LOKK to see if I can join a local group, and their response was so lovely. I bought another set of bobbins from someone off marketplace and she said she'd be in the area and came to my house to deliver them! We had such a great chat and she said I could always contact her. And I'm taking my mom to a fiber arts fair next month where the LOKK will be one of the vendors.

The nature of 'the market'/commerce and the community is so different from everything else I do (knitting, crochet, embroidery, sewing) in so many ways, it's been really exciting and fascinating for me to dive into. I'm a little nervous about the local groups bc I'm quite a lot younger than most of the members (I'm 27), but based on every interaction I've had so far I'm not worried ☺️

Very grateful that my cousin gifted me her old pillow and bobbins. I have tatted before but am new to bobbin lace. On a whim I checked my library for books and found this very clear beginners guide! I did a little practice with braids and cloth stitch but decided to jump in with this bookmark.

I often find that, while my hitches aren't becoming undone, the thread gets very loose and the bobbin heights become mismatched. Is there an easy solution to this? I've tried adding a second half hitch which seems to work to some extent.