Spangles
Spangling is a uniquely English thing which is found on east midlands style bobbins.
Spangles were originally a sequin like thing that were used to adorn goldwork from the middle ages. Sparkly by nature, it's no wonder lacemakers co-opted the term to describe the glittery beads at the end of their bobbins.
Spangles were originally a sequin like thing that were used to adorn goldwork from the middle ages. Sparkly by nature, it's no wonder lacemakers co-opted the term to describe the glittery beads at the end of their bobbins.
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Bobbin spangles are beads that are used to weight bobbins and prevent them from rolling on pillows and can contain anything from glass beads to buttons and seeds / nuts.
Christine Springett has written a wonderful booklet on the history and origin of spangles; Spangles & Superstitions which is availble from her website. |
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Spangling
There are many ways to spangle bobbins and here are just a few. I spangle the same way as Chris but the Winslow way and Jenny's way are just as effective. You need to find the method that works for you.
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Chris Parsons demonstrates how to spangle
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Spangle the Winslow Bobbins Way
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Jenny Brandis - using tiger tail and crimps
Jenny has lots of greate resources on her website.
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What to do when your wire won't go through your bobbin for spangling
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When you can't get your wire to go through your bobbin you will need to make the hole a little bigger. This is very straight forward to do but needs a couple of bits of equipment.
I use two things to do this. Micro drill bits and a pin vice. I use an elipse pin vice because 1) I happend to own one and 2) it's probably one of the best on the market. Pin vices are designed to hold a micro drill bit really tight. Because the handle is hollow you can position the drill bit at just the right length so you are less likely to break. I then add in a micro drill bit that is just slightly larger than the existing hole and carefull drill in from both sides in turn to widen the hole. If I still can't get the wire through, I go up one size at a time until the hole is big enough to take the wire. |
Elipse Pin Vice
Micro Drill Bits
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