Spangles Redux
Both Robbin and Wendy answered my call for more information on spangles on bobbins. See Robbin’s comment on yesterday’s post. Wendy emailed me with pictures; her note is below.
Jill,
I have attached two photos for the “Spangles” discussion.
They show lace bobbins from my collection ( I have been collecting tools for over 25 years) with 2 spangles that Mark made! I thought it would help to give a sense of scale.
The book Lace and Bobbins by T. L. Huetson first published in the USA in 1973 has several chapters devoted to the lace bobbin – the definition given in the book is as follows:
“ The purpose of these spangles was threefold: they added a little extra weight to the bobbins so that as they hung down on the pillow the thread had a little tension; bobbins not being used at a particular moment were pushed away to either side of the pillow and the spangle prevented them from rolling back and getting in the way of the other bobbins the worker was using; and they helped the bobbins to grip in the spool of the bobbin winder when they were being wound with thread”
In the world of bobbin collecting there are a wide variety of types and styles – some of which are; wooden, bone, carved, inlaid, bead inlaid, church window and inscribed. Inscriptions include names, engagements, sentiments and executions. Bobbins with certain types of spangles are highly sought after. An example would be a bobbin with a “Kitty Fisher”, a grey colored bead with white dots that have blue centers thought to resemble the eyes of the famous actress. The large bead in the center of the circle of beads is sometimes referred to as a “pompadour”. The square cut beads on either side of the center bead are often “square cut”, they help to prevent the bobbin from moving about when not being used.
Hope this helps!
Wendy
Thanks to both for helping a great deal.
February 4th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
The embroidery looks lovely so far! I hope my own large scale embroidery project like this turns out as good. I’m working on a corset cover that I wish I had more time to work on.
February 5th, 2008 at 9:18 am
Spangling bobbins is an evil evil temptation. I had bobbins, and a stash of beads, several months before being able to take my first actual lace lesson. I bought more bobbins, and used them as an excuse to add to my stash of beads and kept spangling. Oooo, pretty! Shiney is my favorite color
(well, right next to green 
). When I finally had my first lesson I had more than enough bobbins to have dressed several pillows. (”dressed” is a lace term for having your pillow prepped and ready to start lacing). Welcome to another hobby addiction!
February 5th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
I also recall reading that in the places that kind of bobbin were used (not all bobbins have spangles, by the way), the beads and other trinkets used were often items of personal significance to the lacemaker. Most of my spangled bobbins have just some general spangles, but for some of my center beads, I have some beads that are special to me.