About the service
I make Teneriffe lace by hand on a round pin loom — the little sun with pins set evenly around the rim. The work starts with the warp: threads are stretched from pin to pin across the circle, and everything after that depends on how evenly they sit. Pull too hard and the centre humps up into a little dome; leave it slack and the outer edge ripples and will never lie flat. Only then comes the knotting, round after round, until the rosette becomes what we agreed on — dense as a coin, or thin and open like a cobweb.
I would rather be honest about the limits before you order anything. Every single rosette is worked separately by hand, so a large panel of several dozen motifs is built up over weeks, not over a weekend. The rosettes will not be identical either: half a millimetre of difference in diameter and a little difference in tension are always there, and that is the signature of handwork rather than a fault. Fine thread also yellows with time — fastest in direct sun on a windowsill and inside a polyethylene bag, so a finished piece should be kept wrapped in cotton cloth. Washing is by hand in warm water, and drying is flat on a towel: hung on a line, the piece loses its shape, and only re-starching and re-pinning bring it back.
Before the main order I draw a layout and weave one sample rosette in the exact diameter and density we discussed, so that you can see the thread and the colour in your own light. When the sample is approved, I start the full run and keep you posted on how many motifs are finished each week.
— rosettes from two to twenty centimetres, in any density from open to solid;
— motifs joined into cloth: collars, cuffs, table mats, runners;
— inserts for a dress neckline, a sleeve, a yoke or a cushion front;
— framed panels of dozens of rosettes, laid out to your wall size;
— thread chosen with you: linen, cotton, mercerised yarn, natural or dyed;
— starching and shaping so the piece holds its circle;
— repair of old lace: missing rosettes rewoven and matched to the original;
— a drawn layout and a sample rosette before the main work begins.
I would rather be honest about the limits before you order anything. Every single rosette is worked separately by hand, so a large panel of several dozen motifs is built up over weeks, not over a weekend. The rosettes will not be identical either: half a millimetre of difference in diameter and a little difference in tension are always there, and that is the signature of handwork rather than a fault. Fine thread also yellows with time — fastest in direct sun on a windowsill and inside a polyethylene bag, so a finished piece should be kept wrapped in cotton cloth. Washing is by hand in warm water, and drying is flat on a towel: hung on a line, the piece loses its shape, and only re-starching and re-pinning bring it back.
Before the main order I draw a layout and weave one sample rosette in the exact diameter and density we discussed, so that you can see the thread and the colour in your own light. When the sample is approved, I start the full run and keep you posted on how many motifs are finished each week.
— rosettes from two to twenty centimetres, in any density from open to solid;
— motifs joined into cloth: collars, cuffs, table mats, runners;
— inserts for a dress neckline, a sleeve, a yoke or a cushion front;
— framed panels of dozens of rosettes, laid out to your wall size;
— thread chosen with you: linen, cotton, mercerised yarn, natural or dyed;
— starching and shaping so the piece holds its circle;
— repair of old lace: missing rosettes rewoven and matched to the original;
— a drawn layout and a sample rosette before the main work begins.
