The rest of the equipment enables you to make bobbin lace, but lace is thread. It is the one thing which gets used up, and luckily, it is cheap (unless you want to buy expensive thread, of course!)
You can make lace with any type of thread that won't break or stretch. In the past, they used silk or linen, or even gold and silver thread. Now, cotton is used, and I must admit that I tend to use the cheapest type of polyester thread. You don't use much thread, and so you can use quite exotic materials, but you don't have to. To start with, try any type of ordinary sewing thread, and when you're more confident, you can experiment with other threads. I've made fun pieces of lace with sparkly thread made from plastic.
You will need to consider how thick the thread is, and many lace patterns specify a particular type of thread. This is just to get a particular effect. If you use a thinner thread, your lace will look looser, and a thicker thread will make a tauter lace. It's fun to experiment with different thicknesses of thread and see the effects. Once I made some lace with thread far too thin for the pattern size, and a friend admired its 'delicacy'. It was practically falling apart! Some antique lace was made of gossamer-thin thread, but then, as lacemakers tried to compete with lacemaking machines, the threads got much thicker so they could make lace quickly (some of it looks like thin string!) So a vast range of thread thickness can be used. It is even possible to use wool, as long as the wool does not stretch.
The traditional colours for lace was white, and perhaps black. Old lace often looks cream-coloured, so cream is a good way to make antique-looking lace. However, with all the rainbow of colours available in modern thread, there is no reason to restrict yourself. Use whatever you want. You can also experiment with using more than one colour. This needs a certain amount of thought. I enjoy using colour. Have a look at my patterns for examples.
Once you are confident with using ordinary thread, then perhaps you might like to experiment with using strange materials!
This painting of a lacemaker is by Bernhard Keil (1624-1687). She has put the pillow carefully on a chair while she does something else. I do hope that cat is not going to knock it off! You can see the thread hanging from the lace.
The Dutch for thread is Garens.
© Jo Edkins 2016 - return to lace index