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Linda Lane making bobbin lace, Bobbin lacemaker, 2015
Linda Lane
Salem, Massachusetts
Linen thread, bobbins, velvet
Photography by Maggie Holtzberg
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In lace, there is a whole world of technique in just getting around a corner.Although lace, being woven, is technically a textile, it is more truly an embellishment. Indeed, lacere, the Latin root of the word lace, is to entice or delight. Bobbin lace, the type that Linda Lane excels at, dates back to the 1450s.
To make bobbin lace, one must have tremendous patience and keen eyesight. One square inch of bobbin lace takes approximately an hour to make. An accomplished weaver and spinner, Linda learned to make lace by watching another lace maker for a number of years. Then, with the aid of a few formal lessons and some very good instructional books, she taught herself. Like a musician following sheet music, Linda reads tiny pin prickings on a strip of rolled paper.
Lace patterns get their names from the geographic areas in which they were derived, for example, Bedfordshire bobbin lace, Valenciennes edging lace, and Bruges flower lace.
Although there are lacemaking guilds here and in England, with active members, there are fewer younger people taking up the craft. "We would like more to carry it on, but it's very time consuming."
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