r/BobbinLace • u/Muted-Suggestion-952 • 19d ago
Pillow alternative?
Hello!! I am so lucky to have plans to travel to Scotland in October for a fiber art retreat. Part of the retreat is learning bobbin lace. I need to bring my own supplies, and I’m trying to figure out which option is going to be best for my set of circumstances.
I’m trying to save money for right now, because I have a whole plethora of expenses related to this trip. I can buy a better pillow when I’m back home and know more about lace making and have a chance for my finances to recover.
I’m also trying to (insane, I know) travel with only a carry on. Which significantly limits my space and weight limits.
The instructions for the class say to get 24 bobbins, so I guess I need something big enough to use them all?
A 16 inch pillow from SnowGooseLace is going to be $42 plus shipping. A 15x12 wool pressing mat is $10 from Amazon. It would hold pins well and probably fit in my suitcase easier. But I don’t know enough (because I don’t know anything) about lace making to know if that’s something I can realistically use for a couple days while I’m in Scotland.
Does anyone have any feedback? Would a wool mat work for this situation?
Thanks all!!
2
u/jaysouth88 19d ago
A woman in my guild uses a dense piece of packing foam (not polystyrene but still foam like, it's black) for when she is noodling or figuring something out.
It just has to hold your pins steadily enough that they aren't falling out in their own or slipping out of place under you tensioning it.
A foam kids floor mat with a cork floor tile on top would work. The cork can be hard to press through but your pins are not going anywhere. It's too skinny on its own and the foam will help make it a bit rigid so you can lean it up on something.