Lace-Making Pillow Item Number: 524/4 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Description
Blue lace making pillow, fully set up for lace making, with work in progress. The pillow is square with rounded corners, tightly stuffed with grasses or straw, covered with blue linen textile. A parchment lace-making pattern is pinned into position on the pillow; there is a length of finished lace, the near end of which is still in process. Approximately 60 threads and bobbins are attached and approximately 125 steel pins hold the thread in position on the pattern. Twenty-one spare bobbins are held in a pocket on the right hand side. A triangular pin cushion holds extra pins.
History Of Use
The tradition of lace making in Bedfordshire is said to have been introduced by Catherine of Aragon, who taught the craft to the peasantry during her two year residency in Ampthill in order to give them a means of subsistence.
Specific Techniques
The donor said in an interview that they used only fine steel pins. Each stitch had to be pinned to keep it firmly in place. After about two inches were completed and pinned, she could start removing pins from the back and moving them forward. She also said the form (pillow) was bought already made, in a white cover. The lace maker then covered it tightly in blue linen. She stitched this cover herself when she was a child of 8 or 9, when she began to learn lace-making. It had to be stitched down very neatly, as any loose ends of cloth might rub on the fine linen threads.
Narrative
Bedfordshire-Buckinghamshire Point Ground and Maltese Pillow Lace-Making Collection.
Item History
- Made in United Kingdom and Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England during 1916
- Collected during 1916
- Owned by Mary Pack before April 2, 1979
- Received from Mary Pack (Donor) on April 2, 1979
What
- Name
- Lace-Making Pillow
- Identification Number
- 524/4
- Type of Item
- pillow
- Material
- cotton fibre, linen fibre, grass, wood, metal, glass, bone, clay, parchment paper and dye
- Overall
- height 50.0 cm, width 51.0 cm, diameter 137.0 cm
Where
- Holding Institution
- MOA: University of British Columbia
- Made in
- United Kingdom and Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England
When
- Creation Date
- during 1916
- Collection Date
- during 1916
- Ownership Date
- before April 2, 1979
- Acquisition Date
- on April 2, 1979
Other
- Item Classes
- textiles
- Condition
- good
- Accession Number
- 0524/0004