What works well?

• This book has been used by countless lacemakers to learn to make lace.

Anything that we need to take into consideration?

• Doris Southard does not follow the UK and European half stitch of CT, instead she uses TC.  This can cause initial confusion for those who have learnt from the book moving to other patterns and care should be taken to familiarise yourself with the notations of any new pattern.
• The older, purple covered book with the image of an Elizabethan Lady does not contain the pattern for that lace.
• This book is currently in print

A Grandmother's Pattern Book by Gilian Dye
​In her introduction, Gilian Dye talks about this book being one for lacemakers who want to make things to give away as presents to family.

This book is the first time that Gilian's book worm makes an appearance.

What works well?

• As will all of Gilian's books, the drawings and instructions for the patterns, in this book, are well done.

Anything that we need to take into consideration?

• The pattern for the elephant, on the front page is included in this book
• ​This book is currently out of print, but recently stock has appeared on eBay at a reasonable price

What works well?

• The text is clear and the black and white photos

​Anything that we need to take into consideration?

• Although this book is in Finnish, translating it should not be an issue - read my post on translations
• This book is currently out of print.

Bedfordshire Lace by Jean Leader
​As always, Jean has produced clear, easy to read text that compliments the colour diagrams and photos.

Although designed to stand alone, this would make a fantastic follow up book to Jean's Introduction to Bedfordshire Lace, published by the Lace Guild.

The techniques are grouped at the beginning of the book so that they are easily referenced. 

The 26 patterns take you from a very simple plaited circle, with picots through learning leaves and tallies to floral bucks.

Included in the book are the three butterflies on the front cover along with 3 collar patterns.

Grof (Brugs) Bloemwerk by Sonia Vanoosterwijck
The pack consists of a number of elements:

• Set 1 - Foreword and historical notes
• Set 2 - 8 individual pattern sheets.  Each pattern is printed on a separate large folded sheet. 
• Set 3 - Stapled booklet of techniques

The pack is printed with multilingual text in English, Dutch, German and French.

What works well?

• The technique booklet works well, allowing you to look at the elements you need when working with the patterns.

Anything that we need to take into consideration?

• Check that the pack is complete before buying.
• ​This pack is currently out of print.  It rarely appears second hand and is worth buying if you can find it at a reasonable price.

Bruges Flower Lace by Edna Sutton
Edna Sutton's book was the first English language book published on Bruges flower lace and introduced a whole generation of lacemakers to this floral lace.

​Edna Sutton also published two other books; Bruges Flower Lace Patterns and Designing for Bruges Flower Lace.

The Technique of Bruges Flower Lace by Veronica Sorenson and J E H Rombach-de Kievid
​J E H Romach-de Kievid also authored the Dutch language book on Bruges Flower Lace.

​This book takes you from the basics through to more advanced patterns and techniques.

Bruges Bloemwerk by J E H Rombach-de Kievid
This author co-authored the English language book The Techniques of Bruge Flower Lace with Veronica Sorenson

Whilst this book is in Dutch, the line drawings and photos clearly show the techniques used in the book.

What works well?

• The line drawings and black and white photos show the techniques clearly.

Anything that we need to take into consideration?

• The patterns for this book are supplied on two sheets as a supplement, at the back of the book.  You need to ensure that these are included when buying the book
• Although this pack is printed in Dutch, translating it should not be an issue - read my post on translations
• This book is currently out of print, it is occasionally available on eBay

Duchess Lace : An Introduction by Jane Newble-de Graaf
Often mentioned in the same breath as Withof, Duchess Lace is named after Marie Henriette, Duchess of Brabant, who married the future King Leopold III of Belgium in 1853. 

​As the author points out, because this lace was in vogue until the early 1900s, it often appears as antique pieces which makes it accessible to buy actual pieces for study and reproduction.

For me, Duchess lace makes a nice bridge between Bruges Flower Lace and Honiton / Withof as it has similar techniques to Bruges, but is more delicate, which can then be a gateway into the finer and smaller laces of Honiton and Withof.

Jane takes you through the history and techniques of the lace along with discussion and help on designing your own pieces.

Honiton Lace - A Practical Guide by Cynthia Voysey
When this book came out in 1991 it was exciting as it was only the third main stream Honiton teaching book published in 20 years.  

The first was Elsie Luxton's The Technique of Honiton Lace, followed by Suzanne Thompson's An Introduction to Honiton Lace.

This book could have been called 'a visual introduction' as it is full of clear black and white photos demonstrating each of the techniques, step by step

The two bobbins on the front were painted for Cynthia by Barry Biggins in his typical style.