In some ways, pins really are used to let the threads in lace change directions and to create tension. Bobbin lace is a weaving technique (unlike tatting, for example, which is knotted). Unlike typical weaving, where one thread does the weaving, in lace the ‘weaver’ changes many times. And the pins help let different threads become the weaver.

The person who asked the question is right — the holes made by pins often do close up when the pins are removed. This is actually very important in some laces. (For example, Torchon lace has a spider stitch that uses a pin in the center and one at the bottom. That pin lets you get good tension and then take threads out in different directions. But once they are secure, you remove the pin and you want the hole to go away.)

In the enlargement of the Laton lace sample, you can see some of the holes that were actually made by pins. This may be in part because the pins of that time period were not fine, but it is also likely due to the nature of metallic threads. They don’t have the give that other fibers have that let them move to close up the holes. (We noticed the same thing in a way with the new metallic wrapped silk being used on the Jacket — the thread was much more likely to stay where it was put when you made a buttonhole stitch than when you worked the same stitch with silk which slides easily. It’s a good and bad feature.)