Hello all --

I am sending this to the list on behalf of a friend who has begun a survey
of lace collections in museums.  Please respond directly to her, Tess
Parrish, at "[log in to unmask]"


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Subject: Freehand Lace.

    I am beginning my research into Freehand Lace in America and hope that
some of you might be able to help me with suggestions for sites to contact or
visit.  Freehand lace is a type of bobbin lace.  Bobbin lace is produced by
a weaving process using a pattern pinned onto a pillow and woven with the
use of hand-held bobbins.  Pins are used to hold the lace in place as
different sections are woven.

    Freehand lace, most often made in fairly coarse linen thread, often
handspun, for home use by European peasants, was worked without a pattern on
a striped or checked fabric covering the pillow, giving guidelines for the
pins on the outer edges: no pins are used on the inside. The old examples
date from very early in lace history until probably the end of the 19th
century, or until modern machine lace took over and the circumstances of
peasants' lives changed.

    I belong to a study group, part of the international lace group OIDFA,
which is trying to collect examples of this kind of lace by visiting museums
and historical societies and perhaps even private collections, if they can
find them. They have found this lace in many parts of Europe where peasant
cultures were strong. This kind of lace was not for sale on the fashion-lace
market: it was made strictly for local use.    Because these laces are
usually an integral part of the textile, they may not be listed under the
category of lace. Instead, one might look for costume, household linens (show
towels are an example), and possibly embroidery.  Then when the object is
found one must look carefully at the borders and insertions.  The hardest
part is to figure out whether pins were used in the body of the lace, the
sure sign of freehand lace.

    My thought is that some of this lace must have come with the immigrants
who came here in the 18th and 19th centuries and might be found in areas
where such cultures still are strong. I am asking any of you who live where
there are Scandinavian or German or other peasant influences to let me know
of places I can write to or go to continue my search.

    Thank you for your help.
    Tess Parrish in Falmouth,Maine
    Email: [log in to unmask]

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regards,

Lorraine E. Weiss, Education Director
[log in to unmask]
Rensselaer County Historical Society, Troy, NY,
Visit us at http://www.rchsonline.org

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