I dismantled my
makeshift bolster pillow for parts.
Here's a photo of it all unrolled with the blue cover fabric on the bottom, then thin green blanket, the bath sheet and the milo tin.
That's my phone and a bobbin for size referencing because I didn't have a banana on hand.
The pillow core
To make my permanent bolster pillow I used a bit of storm drain pipe we bought as an off cut from some crazy boy shop that sold lots of tubes and stuff used in building houses and gardens and whatever. The pipe is the core of the bolster.
The layers
I also bought a double camping mat. When I bought the double camping mat I knew I was going to have to cut it in half lengthways and if I had bought 2 singles I wouldn't have had to do that. But the singles were only 0.5cm thick where as the double was 0.8cm thick, and in this case thicker is better.
I used a bread knife to cut the mat in half whilst it was all rolled up then I wrapped it around my pipe.
The pipe and the tin were about the same diameter but the pipe was certainly longer.
I wrapped my old wool army blanket around the mat. I assume it's a 100% wool blanket but it might not be.
100% wool is hard to find these days. A lot of sellers will claim 100% wool or high wool content and it won't be what they have claimed so all I can say is be careful. Buy vintage if you can and if you can't, be prepared to not get what you thought you were ordering.
The reason for using 100% wool in your lace making pillow is so you can push your pins through easily. So long as you can do that I guess that's all that really matters.
I wrapped my thin green higher quality wool blanket around the army blanket.
I made sure the ends butted up against each other without overlapping which causes bumps and generally tried to keep everything reasonably smooth.
Then I just pinned the last edge into place.
Covering the bolster
To cover everything I decided the easiest option was to use a stretch knit cotton pencil skirt which cost $5 from somewhere and no longer fit me.
I stood the whole thing up on it's end and rolled it on sort of like stockings.
To pull the cover over the ends I layed the pillow back down, bunched up the ends and used hair bands to secure them.
The stand
Hubby had made me a bolster pillow stand which I was really hoping was going to be the right size because it was made before the cushion was made. It was just some ply wood and dowel with a lick of paint.
The main features I was aiming for was a stable base where the pillow wouldn't roll from pulling on bobbins and that the pins could stay in the pillow as I turned the cushion when making braids, which was a major draw back of my cardboard box version.
The final diameter was 39 and half inches.
Of course I've been itching to make something on it ever since I had it all put together.
I knew exactly what I wanted to make too.
 |
Marguerite de Valois, ca. 1563
Francois Clouet
Musée Condé, Chantilly |
I wanted to do the
Margurite le Pompe lace in silver.
Saturday I finally sat down and made it. One 25m skein and many hours gave me 32 inches of pretty pretty silver lace.
This thread is plied together and has a lot of texture to it because of the ply which made it rather challenging to work with but also gave a really nice body to lace.
I was so pleased that the pins clear the pillow frame easily. Yay!
The lace is still on the pillow so it can set. I want to try the regular embroidery thread to see how it compares as well.
Thanks for linking up at the Two Uses Tuesday Link Party! I want some fun Christmas pillows, might just go the DIY way. Thanks for some inspiration
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! I have always wanted to learn about bobbin lace and how to make it. But, I felt the resources were not easily available. I may have to give it a try one day. Your lace is absolutely beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lilly. I felt like bobbin lace was going to be beyond me too so I know just how you feel. I'm totally addicted now and it was so much easier then I ever thought. You can make loads of patterns with just a dozen bobbins so getting enough equipment to get going doesn't have to break the bank. Please feel free to ask if you have any questions and I'll be happy to help.
DeleteWasn't sure what bobbin lace was... Thanks for sharing!! Thanks for linking up with My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday - Party!! I love having you!! Pinned!
ReplyDeleteMy bobbin lace is not what most people would consider bobbin lace, most lacey-lace was made using bobbins -before it was machine made that is- the fine intricate stuff we all think of as lace. I love how you take the time to give a thoughtful comment, I know you won't always be able to but I truly appreciate it :o)
DeleteA lot of sellers will claim 100% wool or high wool content and it won't be what they have claimed so all I can say is be careful. maquinas de coser
ReplyDeleteThey sure do! You need to look for the wool symbol. Lucky for me my blankets are older then I am from when real wool was the cheaper option.
DeleteI love this tutorial as I am new to bobbin lace (though an avid tatter) and decided that the cheap cookie pillow I have is probably not really what I need. How do you find the pins hold in the foam? I always find that foam springy and while I considered trying it for a mat, wondered how well it would actually hold. As I have only ever made bookmarks etc using the denser cloth stitches etc in cotton, I've never needed to let the lace "set", though I do tend to hold a steam iron over them once off the pillow, just to tidy it all up. I wonder if holding a steam iron over the pillow may also help, especially when using the synthetic threads like you have here?
ReplyDeleteIt's been really challenging to piece together how to make bobbin lace from various online resources, but it's so worth it!
The pins don't reach as far as the foam, so it really isn't a problem at all. The wool blanket holds them very well, however I think a nice dense pure wool felt would be the best option. I've found that time is the best way to get the lace to "set" even with these metallic threads. I haven't tried using steam on lace however it has worked well with my crochet projects.
ReplyDeleteI also made a cookie pillow and it is foam, I've found the pins to hold okay in that but wool is better.
I also found it really challenging to piece together enough information about bobbin lace from online resources to teach myself.
Happy lace making!
.8mm thick or 8 mm?
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing that mistake out, 0.8cm. It's fixed now.
Deleteyou are welcome! Dont understand why the commercial pillows are so expensive!
DeleteI guess it's because there's just not a lot of demand for them.
DeleteInteresting post. I Have Been wondering about this issue, so thanks for posting. Pretty cool post.It 's really very nice and Useful post.Thanks Best Bolster Pillows
ReplyDeleteExcellent post. You are so right... 100% wool is so hard to find!
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