My next bobbin lace project was a picture of an orchid. It was inspired by the orchids that my father grows on the windowsill in our living room, but it is not, of course, intended to be an accurate representation of any specific plant/species. This time I did not use paper and pencil at all, I started rightaway drawing on my PC with my tablet and I ended up with this coloured sketch.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
From the sketch, I have made a template that could be printed out. The important thing to not forget by an assymetrical design like this is to mirror the image – the lace has a front and back. In this case not only all the knots are on the back side, but important is also the stalk of the blossoms which is in front of the right leaf.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
The final step was, of course, making the actual lace. It took me circa 40 hours. you can look below the fold whether it was worth the effort.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
Wow! You really have a great eye for compositon, put together with the skill, and yes, wow! I especially like the way that though the stalk is there the flowers seem to hang in mid air just the way actual orchid flowers do.
Wow, that’s pretty neat… and the end results are beautiful. I like it!
Oh, wow! That is beautiful!
Wow,
That’s really beautiful, Chaly, Are Bobbin lace pieces ever used to decorate clothing? I’ve been watching medieval sewing recently and they use a technique similar to bobbin lace, called finger--loop braiding to make which is then used as trim.
@voyager, this type of bobbin lace was originally intended for items of clothing. My mom has in the sixties made a whole bobbin lace dress for one of her cousin’s prom. She has also made multiple blouse collars and sleeve borderings for herself and some of her friends and relatives. The lace can also be made and sold by the meter, which is actually how our family tradition started between the World Wars (that has its own, sad, story).
My mother does not remember how and where she got the idea of making bobbin lace pictures, but it was about when I was eight years old.
Wow! That is incredible. I think it was well worth the 40 hours.
My grandma used to make dress collars using this method, still some of the prettiest accessories I remember (my mum would take them off each dress as we grew out of them and save them for the next one).
A thing of beauty!
I love your bobbin lace.
It’s not just that you get the shapes right, but also the texture of the different flower parts