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The Lace Notes

Bobbin materials

13/5/2025

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PictureEast Midlands wooden bobbins photo © the lace bee
In a recent post on Lace Bobbins - Find the Maker, I posted about having chosen to work with wooden bobbins on a short piece.  

This then raised the question as to what other materials bobbins can be made from.

​If the designs on your bobbins tell the story of your life through commemorating events or places you have been, then what they are made of tell the story of how you create lace.

The images that I've used below are from my own collection of modern and vintage bobins. 

​These are predominately East Midlands but bobbins come in as many styles as there countries that make lace.  The type of material will vary from country to country for traditional bobbins but with the advent of global commerce, there has been greater acces materials worldwide so traditional materials are less confined to particular countries

​If you would like to know more about styles of bobbins then do go to my bobbin page.

Material Types​
  • Wooden Boobins
  • Bone Bobbins
  • Glass Bobbins
  • Metal Bobbins
  • Other Materials

Picture
LH pair - David Stanley RH pair - Janet Retter photo ©the lace bee
Wooden Bobbins
Wooden bobbins are the most widely available bobbins simply because of the availability of wood, ease for turning and price point.

​They come in plain woods, exotic woods, painted, spliced, tinseled, inlaid ... you name it, there is a bobbin that you can find to make your desire.  I even have some from M&D Davis which I've beaded myself. 

For more on the bobbins shown see the FTM pages on David Stanley and Janet Retter
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Bone Bobbins
Bone bobbins mainly are made from Bovine Bone (cow bone).  ​There are some instances of Giraffe bone bobbins that were sold by Zim bobbins in the late 80s/90s.   Buffalo horn is also sometimes turned into bobbins.

​Bone bobbins can be turned thinly and allow for more bobbins on a pillow for the footprint that they take up.l. 

When buying second hand bobbins, beaware that a number of ebay sellers miss label plastic Hornsby bobbins as ivory.
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Bone Bobbins photo ©the lace bee
Ivory bobbins are very rare and in the UK were predominately made by Barry Adams.

​If you own an ivory bobbin then please be aware that the selling or trading in Ivory is covered by CITES, worldwide and in the UK by the 2018 Ivory Act.  Failure to adhere to the act can result in a maximum fine of £250,000 or up to 5 years imprisonment.

Exempltions apply to owning ivory for personal use, giving it away as a gift and leaving it to someone in your will.  I strongly recommend that you check with the legislation in your country if you own any ivory bobbins.
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Tuffnel Glass bobbins photo ©the lace bee
Glass Bobbins
Glass bobbins are made from borosilicate glass which is known for it's hardness.  Commercially, this glass is used by Pyrex for their dishes.

In the UK there were two main makers of glass bobbins; Tuffnel Glass and Malcolm J Fowler.

Tuffnel were known for their twisted glass inserts and interesting spangles and pins, whilst Malcolm Fowler was able to capture a variety of things in his bobbins such as stamps, lace and potpourri.
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Metal Bobbins
Predominately made of aluminium or brass, metal bobbins allow for a narrower bobbin for the weight.

Although most fully metal bobbin makers have since stopped making them, Jim Tregellas, Australia is still in production.

Chris Parsons has carried on the art of ebony with pewter inlay bobbins and also makes beautiful silver and ebony bobbins
Picture
Chris Parson's Ebony bobbin with cast silver section photo ©Chris Parsons
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DJ Hornsby 'plastic' bobbin in brown. Note that the number of 'balls' at the end by the spangle may vary from bobbin to bobbin. photo ©the lace bee
Other Materials
As mentioned, you can find bobbins in many other materials, from Corian or kitchen worksurfaces, Buffalo horn, resin ... if you can turn it, you can make a bobbin from it.

As to how practical these are, well that is down to the hardiness and resiliance of the material.  If all fails, they make great talking points when demonstrating.

As mentioned before, one of the main 'plastic' bobbins on the market is the DJ Hornsby bobbin which was produced in white (now cream with age), black and brown.  The white/cream ones are often marketed as 'ivory' on ebay.  Take care.
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Turned and painted wooden bobbin by Bill and Brenda Wraight photo ©the lace bee
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Chris Parson's Bone with Corian (also available as ebony with Corian) photo ©Chris Parsons
Picture
Archer engraved and painted bone bobbins photo ©the lace bee
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Bobbin & spangle sizes

8/5/2025

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PictureSally Reason bobbins with 7 main beads, including the crystal rondells.
When I first started to make lace in the heady days of the late 1980s I was obsessed with buying big, bulky east midlands bobbins and having heavy spangles with 7 main beads on them.

It was as though I needed something heavy duty to grab as I learned to make lace.

Within a year or so I stared to buy slimmer bobbins and moved to five main beads in the spangle, with small seed beads between the main beads to stop them rubbing.  It was as though as my speed increased I moved from grabbing at the bobbins to 'throwing' them.  This change in technique is somewhat aligned to how when you start to drive you say out loud 'Mirror, sigal, manouver', then after a while you just do that without having to say it.

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Gradually I respangled all of my bobbins to match my preferred style and started to move to buying bone bobbins as I could afford them.  

The move to bone bobbins was for a number of reasons:
  • When I started lacemaking, quantity of bobbins was more important than expansive bobbins.
  • There is something romantic about using bone bobbins on a straw pillow that links you to lacemakers from the past
  • Bone bobbins are naturally heavier than wood which means that they can thinnner than wood allowing you to wrangle more bobbins in the same space on your pillow which is perfect for larger and/or more complex pieces.

Picture
I usually buy new bobbins unspangled but sometimes this isn't an option and with secondhand, you get what you get.  

I'm always torn as to whether or not to change the spangles on preloved / secondhand bobbins.  They are show you part of the character and personality of the last owner but other times they can be impractical.  ​Often you realise from it's condition that a bobbin has not been used and it's obvious becuase of the spangle. 

They can be unwealdy due to dangling bits or just too heavy or too light.

With bobbins to the right, the one in the middle has 7 beads on it but is of a good weight.  The one to it's left, well, I tried but that dangle just keeps getting in the way.  To it's right is a hinged bobbin whcih I have to say, is perfectly balanced.

So, is there a rule as to how many beads you should have on an East Midland's bobbin?
Nope - none at all.
What I will say is that you are going to find your perfect weight and it may be quickly after you start or much later.  But at some point, you are going to embrace the fact that you need to respangle ALL of your bobbins.

It's inevitable.  Just go with it and enjoy the fun.
Picture
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Buying bobbins on eBay

10/6/2021

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Having just picked up some lovely bone bobbins on ebay, I thought it might be time to offers some advice about buying second hand modern bobbins.
So here are my top tips on buying second hand on eBay (and elsewhere)
1)    Is this bobbin still available from the original turner / painter at a reasonable price? 
​
Supporting our artisans is good karma, but obviously if it's a bargain then you are going to buy the pre-loved bobbin. Don't forget to check out 'find the maker' if you want to identify the maker is
Picture
2)    Is the bobbin good value? 
If you have a budget, then set your limit according when bidding. It's really easy to get carried away and bid way over the top
3)    Is this a private seller or a dealer? 
Always check out the other bobbins that the seller has on sale. There are starting to be a number of sellers who are effectively dealers, but pretending to be private sellers. They buy new bobbins from current artisans and then put them straight on to eBay with a markup. I don't believe in Caveat emptor - Buyer beware.

If you then unsure about a purchase talk with one of the most experience lacemakers in the lace Facebook groups.
You are more than welcome to message me.

4)    Take a good look at the photos. 
Fuzzy photos may be someone who isn't good at taking them or it may be an attempt to cover up a less than wonderful bobbin that has a fault.

​There is nothing stopping you contacting the seller to ask for more photos, or information, if you are really interested
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Let's Talk About Pewter and Lace Bobbins

1/5/2021

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Pewter is an alloy, in other words, different metals are mixed to make a new metal.

Traditionally, lead was used in pewter. 

Modern English Pewter is highly regulated and is lead free, modern bobbins with pewter in them from reputable bobbin makers such as Chris Parsons are safe to use but you should always check with the maker to be sure.

​However, antique bobbins are a different story altogether.

There are two issues with the lead that is in these bobbins.
Picture
Antique pewter inlaid bobbins with 'butterfly' motifs
Picture
Toxicity
Lead is easily dissolved in acidic environments - this means that simply handing lead or lead based metals can cause the lead to leach out onto the skin.

Wash your hands
Always wash your hands thoroughly after handling any antique bobbin that has pewter on it 

Keep your bobbins away from children and animals
Little hands like to touch and then lick their fingers whilst furry paws don't understand 'do not touch' signs.  So, it's easier to just put them out of reach.
Don't store under glass
Bobbins should be stored out on a shelf or on a stand, putting them under glass, where there is little or no air circulating will cause blooming

Not just wood, but also bone bobbins
Remember, pewter inlay appears on both wooden and bone antique bobbins.
A Nasty History
Lead has a toxic history (sorry, couldn't resist the pun), from being included in the paint on toys being used as a sweetener in drinks.  Yes, there was a history of adding lead to cider to make it sweeter leading to brain damage and death and is the origin of the jokes about 'country yokels'.
PictureLead musket balls with surface corrosion caused by exposure to organic acid vapours while displayed in a plywood display cabinet. Western Australia Museum
Blooming
​Lead can oxidise and start to have a white 'bloom' on it.  This is a sign of 'lead disease'.

Keeping antique bobbins in airtight containers will cause blooming.

The first thing is do not touch this with your bare hands.  Put on gloves.

If you find that an antique bobbin has developed blooming then follow the advice from the Western Australian Museum on treating lead bloom.

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    Back to The Lace Notes
    From time to time I post on different groups and wanted to collect some of the advice that I give in one places.

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  • Home
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  • Want To Make Lace?
    • First Things First
    • Choosing a Pillow
    • Bobbins >
      • Bobbins
      • Bobbin Materials
      • Spangling
    • Tools, notions and beads >
      • Boxes and Bits
      • Bruges - chocolate and lace
  • So Who is the lacebee?
  • Every bobbin tells a story
  • My Lace
    • big projects
    • modern
    • traditional
    • miniature
  • Freebies and Whatnots
    • Bits and Pieces
    • Where shall we go next?
    • Local Groups and Support
    • Arachne
  • Contact Me