Thursday, June 09, 2011

Bobbin Lace

After several years of avoiding the sirens call of Bobbin lace, I have finally given in. Got a small kit at Md Sheep and Wool, and down the rabbit hole I am headed.

I have managed to get 2 bookmarks done and decided that I might need a roller pillow to help with the lace edging I wish to make next for some pillow cases.
So I looked up some tutorials online. DIY here I come.

First step, get a pool noodle. That was the only purchase I had to make for this. Everything else I had on hand.

Then I cut a 6 inch length of this. A serrated knife works best I discovered.

The next step was finding some cotton batting. Thankfully several king size pieces of quilt batting are still around here, so this was not hard.
Next, cut 7 inch strips of batting, and tightly wrap them around the noodle base. I am happy that this one has a hole in the middle that is not large. The noodles with larger holes did not seem as stable as this one. Also I am planning on having this in a base, and having a dowel through it so it will work great.

Trim edges. Now to do the basic cover. I started with a scrap of fabric from the stashed quilt fabrics:

Cut the fabric to length and add a few inches, add 2 inches to the width of the side. Turn under 3/4 of a inch on the long side and sew a casing as shown here:



Now string a chord through the casing. I used some scraps of the cotton clothesline from the replacement line this spring.

Whip stitch the edges together, and then pull the edges tight. I used a bit of felt under the pricking, and here it is ready to go:
Not a bad job for the first one. Will make a nice cover for it in a while, but now- I am off to play with it!