Tape lace

 

I’m working on a project at the moment for a mat that will use tape lace outlines, like the one above, entitled ‘Sweet dreams’. For that piece I made an oval edging, using a patchwork of fabrics, and joined the lace to the inner edge of the fabric as I worked round it. This time I’m going to use a continuous ‘tape’ of lace using cloth stitch and twists. I haven’t decided on the colours yet, but although I want to include some gold I think the other colours will be more subtle. I’ve always admired the way that many of the continental laces, such as Russian tape lace, use only a handful of bobbins, yet by working the tape backwards and forwards can make very intricate designs. That way of working has always seemed a much easier option than the straight laces that use numerous bobbins, although you have to keep doing sewings to join the tapes, which could be a drawback!