Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 13:05:49 +0100
From: David & Jean Leader <d.leader@bio.gla.ac.uk>
Subject: [lace] Cluny/Bedfordshire/Guipure Lace
Hello everyone,
Dietmar Krick asked about the differences and similarities between Cluny, Bedsfordshire and guipure laces. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong but I think guipure is a general term for laces with plaited grounds (these can be regular or with plaits just as needed).
Simple Cluny and Bedfordshire patterns can look very similar but there are differences in techniques and this becomes more obvious in advanced patterns. Cluny lace is geometric with crossings and joins worked at precise angles and a set number of pairs while in floral Bedfordshire lace which developed from Bucks Point lace, pairs are added and removed as necessary and trails etc are a way of getting threads from one part of a pattern to another.
In Cluny lace trails nearly always have a constant number of passives but this can vary considerably in Bedfordshire. The way in which plaits join and leave trails alo differs. For example if a plait joins a trail at one side and another leaves from the other side, in Cluny the pin holes will be arranged so that the plait that leaves is made of one pair from the plait that joined and the trail weaver. The other pair from the plait that joined will become the new trail weaver. In Bedfordshire the two plait pairs will join one side of the trail and two different pairs will leave from the other side.
If you want to know more about Bedforshire lace look at 'Introducing Traditional Bedfordshire Lace' by Barbara Underwood published by Ruth Bean, ISBN 0 903585 27 8. Ruth Bean also published 'Technique and Design of Cluny Lace' by L.Paulis/M.Rutgers, ISBN 903585 18 9 but I'm not sure if it's still in print.
Jean
________________________________________________________________
Jean and David Leader,
Glasgow, Scotland, UK.
e-mail: d.leader@bio.gla.ac.uk
Lace Guild web site: http://www.biochem.gla.ac.uk/LaceGuild.html
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