Featured Bobbin lace in the making

Hi everyone,
This came up on my news feed this evening.
She is making Binche handmade bobbin lace at lightning speed! There IS a pattern under her work (blue with black lines).
Remember you are watching her "backwards"... it is clearer from her point of view. Basically she is doing a form of weaving.
Binche is one form that I have not tackled. Clearly, this lady has been working Binche for many years!
Enjoy!
https://www.facebook.com/reel/3750249241960516

Leslie
I hope that it transfers the link!

 

OMG!!!!!!!!! HOW does she even keep track of what she's doing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I saw this a few days ago ! Shes amazing .

 

Amazing!

 

Absolutely jaw dropping. I love that lady. Skills soon to be distant memories only.

‘tyring to follow and figure out how in Gods creation she is doing that is like wondering how they built the pyramids.

 

It must be muscle memory to go that fast. When she reached over for the second bundle of bobbins (is that what they're called, the little sticks?), I couldn't believe it.

 

Hi Aquitaine,
Believe it or not; it is actually pretty easy to keep track! The blue and black line drawing beneath is her pattern (and behind her you can see a large black and white line drawing) which is her "technical drawing"... that is used if you get "lost". Once the pattern is laid, and the bobbins strung from wherever is deemed the "starting point"; everything is fairly orderly.

Think of it in terms of "off loom" weaving. Typical weaving is where your warp threads are anchored top and bottom and you typically only have a few weft threads which are manipulated across the row with a shuttle.

With any form of bobbin lace, the warp threads are "open ended", meaning they are pinned (anchored) to the top of your work and the other ends are attached to bobbins. Then the weft threads are also attached to bobbins.

In essence, the warp threads "sort of" all stay in the same place while the weft threads twist and cross over and under the warp threads. That would make a simple woven piece of cloth.

The trick with bobbin lace making is that the weft threads may go through some of the warp threads but at some point interchange (or dance - if you will) with warp threads, and that creates the pattern ... and makes the holes/openings/voids in the weaving, which makes it lace like.

I assure you, she's been working lace a long time which does make it eye boggling. But an experienced lacemaker can identify her threads and stitches VERY quickly and so although it seems very random... it's really not!

The other thing I tell people that when they are watching someone work. They need to see it from the lacemaker's point of view. It ALWAYS makes more sense from her side of the pillow. When watching as a spectator from the other side of the pillow - it is terribly confusing, as you are watching upsidedown and backwards. I always had people come stand behind me so that they could see it from my side.

I hope that little explanation helps. BUT, it does give some perspective to how long it took/takes to make a piece of "fine handmade bobbin lace" and why in the 17-1800's it was SO expensive. It _IS_ labor intensive!

Cheerio,
Leslie