Contemporary Lace Grounds

Classic

Contemporary

Craft

MarGorsson

I was first introduced to contemporary lace grounds by Reinhilde Vermeulen at a workshop prior to the 1998 OIDFA Congress in Ghent.

Contemporary lace grounds have an affinity with Freehand Lace techniques. Pins are placed down the two edges of the lace whilst the contemporary ground is unsupported in between.

To make this simple yet effective candle / nightlight decoration you can download: Candle decoration Leaflet.pdf

Although ‘contemporary’ you could say that they have now become a ‘classic technique’ due to their popularity amongst lacemakers in the Benelux countries.

I am impressed by the use of these grounds by Nel Butter and Marie Visser, both members of Experikant.

The best thing about Contemporary Lace grounds is that you make up the rules.

You can thread beads onto our bobbins and add another texture.

You can make exquisite scarves, fans, candle decorations............

You make up the rules - go on have a go!! Have Fun!

To inspire you to experiment with contemporary lace grounds I have included some examples on my website. I have also created a pdf which can be downloaded for free. This is purely for personal use if you want to use this with a class or share it with another lace maker please contact me, many thanks.

How to calculate the number if bobbins you require:

•Most grounds I use work on multiples of two pairs of bobbins*.
•number of pairs required for the ground +
•a worker pair +
•number of pairs for edging (I usually make a cloth stitch and twist with the outside pair, pin and then work back with the pair that were formally the outside pair.)
•additional bobbins if you want to include a gimp or a contrasting thread near the edge n.b. as you will probably want to enclose this with a twist on the worker pair then this will probably alter the movement of thread and change the overall effect.

*you can use an odd number of pairs in your ground you just need to remember where the odd bobbin is placed.

Thread tension:

These grounds are in reality a modern Freehand Lace technique with pins on the edges. You will need to adjust the tension whilst making the lace especially if you are using a variety of threads.

Stiffening the lace:

Due to the openness of some if these grounds I would recommended that you stiffen the lace prior to moving the lace up your pillow. Through experimentation you will find that some threads will help set the lace thus eliminating the need for a stiffener e.g. using woollen threads for a scarf.

Here are some lace grounds for you to try:

Cloth & Half Stitch

Cloth Stitch Twist and Half Stitch

Cloth Stitch and Honeycomb Stitch

If you do not want to try contemporary lace grounds perhaps you could try IRREGULAR TULLE...................

Bobbin Lace Men n’ Lace Contemporary Lace Makers

Needle Tatting Get Creative Contemporary Lace