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This information was automatically generated from data provided by MOA: University of British Columbia. It has been standardized to aid in finding and grouping information within the RRN. Accuracy and meaning should be verified from the Data Source tab.

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

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