LACE

[Caledonia]

Hoping for some help here. I have a blouse that is somewhere 1900's to 1910 I think. The material is in good shape but the lace that goes round the neck and cuffs has been "repaired". I can't get a decent picture tonight as the light is fading and my house is pretty dark, but I'll post one tomorrow. Anyway, the lace repair is a disaster consisting of hauling the broken threads together and sewing them in bunches. I was wondering if there is a good book on lace repair or some other means of learning how to do it. Or is lace damage a lost cause and I should just remove and replace? I know you don't have a picture of the damage, but I'll address that shortly.

 

[Tourbillion]

I've never seen a book on lace repair, but I have a few books on making lace, and have sucessfully repaired some in the past.

I am assuming it is a white cotton lace? If so that is good, because the materials are readily available, especially in the UK.

Silk is more difficult. There is silk thread around, you can send away to France or Belgium for it, but it is hard to work with.

I am working on restoring a 1925 gold silk lace evening dress (for the last 8 years). As I can see it the options are one of 2 things:

1. Mine is losing the silk ground, so I can put a new ground under it to stabilize it, and then sew all the motifs by hand on the new silk ground.

2. You can reconnect the ground with a needle and thread using netting stitches, or if you are really talented you could snip out the repair stitches and redo the ground with lace bobbins.

I realize that all of these options are truely terrifying. Good Luck.

 

[Caledonia]

Thanks Tourbillon. It's white cotton. The snipping out the repair stitches I can manage but what's a lace bobbin? And I assume a 'ground' is a backing of some sort. If that's the case, there isn't one, or is that something I use while doing the repair then take it away? Total beginner here, but determined to learn!

 

[Tourbillion]

Well, first of all what kind of lace is it? Cotton is a good sign, that means it isn't as delicate as some of the silk laces. I am assuming it is a hand made lace, but I guess you can repair machine lace too.

Bobbins are to simplify things, carved sticks with thread on them. You can get about 100 of them and make lace by twisting one thread over another. It is a bit difficult to learn.
It looks like this:

finished product:

There is also knit and crocheted lace. I think you know what they look like.

The third main kind is needle lace, you get a needle and thread and some kind of frame and loop and knot away until you get something that looks like lace:

It can be simple like this:

or complicated like this:

or this:

Here's an article on lace identification:

http://lace.lacefairy.com/ID/Identify.html

If it is a "big" lace and the motifs are intact you can probably learn some basic needle lace filling stitches and reconnect the designs. If that doesn't look like it would work, you could get some cotton bobinette or netting (good luck with that one) and put it under the collar and sew the lace to it with tiny stitches.

I found a book on lace repair called ANYBODY CAN MEND LACE AND LINENS, by Elizabeth Kurella at Lacis.com. It might give you better directions than I can.

But you might be able to get a nice vintage collar for the $25/plus shipping+ materials +time.

 

[Caledonia]

Wow thanks Tourbillion! I think from your pictures it looks like cotton needle lace. I'll follow up your leads, but I was also thinking it might be easier to buy new collar and cuffs. The bobbin thing looks scary! Thanks again.

 

[AllaboutEve]

I'd love to see a picture of your blouse once you are able to post one. I have never repaired any antique lace, I have always opted to replace it as vintage lace is so easy to get hold of.

If you wanted to replace it with something hand made you could always try tatting, as this is much easier to learn and you only need to buy a tiny shuttle to do it. It depends on what you need to replace though as tatting is stiffer than lace, it works well for flat collars and cuffs though.

If you do decide to try lace making or tatting then try this shop for supplies: Mary Helen Buckinghamshire 01296 681376.

 

[Caledonia]

You've reminded me! I'll see if I can get a decent photo tomorrow sometime. The reason I thought I'd try repair rather than replace is that although the fabric of the blouse is good it's very fine, and I'm scared of breaking the fabric when removing the lace. Thanks for the materials link.

 

[AllaboutEve]

The reason I thought I'd try repair rather than replace is that although the fabric of the blouse is good it's very fine, and I'm scared of breaking the fabric when removing the lace. Thanks for the materials link.

Sounds like a good plan to me. I will have a look through my needlelace books to see if there is anything helpful.You may find that needlelace techniques will be your best option as suggested by Tourbillon.

 

[Caledonia]

Here she is I hope. I love the high cut to the front and the drop to the back.

So here's my challenge for the next 16 years! I'm guessing that from you Tourbillion - obviously an expert and 8 years on, so my wee blouse is going to take at least 16!

The cuff - the other one is good.

The hole at the neck, and you can see more wear to the sides of the photo.

The awful mess at one shoulder. The other shoulder isn't so bad.

And yet other bits are simply wonderful!

So I'd best get started then!

 

[AllaboutEve]

Oooh what a lovely blouse, it looks as fine as a cobweb.
I spoke to one of my textile buddies and she recommends this book if you are starting out on your first lace repair job.
"Anyone can mend Lace and Linens" by Elizabeth Kurella
Keep us posted with your progress, hopefully it won't take 16 years!!!!

 

[Tourbillion]

I am not an expert, not even that talented of an amateur.

What a lovely blouse! :eusa_clap

The bad news is that there are 2 kinds of lace on the blouse, one of them is the dreaded bobbin lace.

The good news is that it is a fairly simple pattern. The faggoting (bundles of threads) is pretty easy to repair. The bobbin lace will be harder, the thread is pretty fine, you might check size 100 thread and see if it matches (it is kinda hard to tell from the photo,though).


Good luck.

(I'll post my dread project sometime, and you'll see why I haven't been working on it)

 

[Caledonia]

Thanks for the advice ladies. Now I have to get a bobbin set! Will let you know how I get on.

 

[Tourbillion]

You might also dig around on ebay or in antique shops, because the bobbin lace pattern that is used in the blouse is pretty common, I've seen it at in Edwardian clothing at the local antique swap meet.