Customer Reviews

Lessons in Bobbin Lacemaking (Dover Knitting, Crochet, Tatting, Lace)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Includes everything you need to know to make bobbin lace. The patterns are simple and attractive with an emphasis on yardage laces for trim as opposed to motifs and doileys. If you're taking up lacemaking on a budget, this is the book for you. This one was written during the Dark Times when lacemaking equipment was scarce, so there is a chapter included on making your own pillow and bobbins. This is a keeper.

This is the book I used to get started with making bobbin lace. The directions for the patterns start out with excruciatingly exact and precise details. As you move farther into the book, the directions assume a certain level of experience and become less detailed. That's okay, by the time you get to those lessons, you already know what a half-stich and cloth stitch are and no longer need that level of detail. I heartily recommend this book to all of my students.

Fro many years this book was the only book on Lacemaking available in English and we are so grateful for it. But almost all the English language books available today use a different method from this one, and it would be confusing to start with this method and then have to change when buying any other English book. It might be better to start with the method you will continue with.
But if you have a teacher from Belgium this would be the method she will use.(as opposed to an American or English teacher)

I have other books referring to bobbin lace but not so in detail. It is definitely written by someone who loves this craft and is happy to share the knowhow with other persons. Very detailed and a good learning aid !!!

I bought this book when I joined a lacemaking guild thinking it was a great beginners book that would help with my learning; I was wrong. My teacher said, "it is worth having, don't get me wrong, just don't pay attention to what she tells you."

First off the stitch terminologies used are completely different than those used in the greater lace making community. So, as one other reviewer pointed out, all other books and prickings will "read" differently. You may end up confused and frustrated.

Second, all the patterns require the use of heavier linen threads. This makes the finished lace thick and coarse. Honestly most lace makers I know prefer fine cotton or silk threads over linen, also cotton and silk is infinitely more available. The text provides no alternatives to the linen thread; which I feel a "beginners" book should. I've had to invest a lot of time into recalculating the thread weights and/or reducing the pricking sizes of the patterns. There is another great book that helps with this "Threads for Lace" a Must must have if you want to get serious about lace making.

Third, there isn't a variety of lace styles. They all seem to be Torchon styles and I've found that I much prefer tape laces (Idrija, cantu, etc.) as a beginner. That is taste I know, but it would have been nice to have some tape lace option in a book for beginners as they are simple and use fewer bobbins.

I would recommend Jean Jagendorf's books for the best guide to learning bobbin lace - she really knows her stuff and actively teaches.

This book contains the same lessons and information as the book "Bobbin Lacemaking," that is now out of print. Lessons take you through progressively more difficult laces.

This book was a present for my wife. She is very happy with the contents and ease of use.