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Worth200: Bobbin Lace Workshop

We were lucky enough to attend a bobbin lace workshop, in the very town where Charles Frederick Worth was born. It was a charming town steeped in history, as well as its exquisite flora that peppered Bourne through its green spaces. It was easy to see how Worth could be so inspired by this place long after moving abroad. Especially within the details of bobbin lace.

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To be honest — when we signed up, we weren’t entirely sure what we were getting into. 

We had a vague image of old-fashioned doilies and an even vaguer idea of how lace is made. The closest we’ve seen is videos of experienced craftspeople throwing small wooden spindles at a mile-a-minute and making it look criminally easy.


How that would manifest for us was currently unknown.


But we very much enjoy learning new crafts, especially the ones that feel a bit old-world and hands-on, and as fashion design students, we’re always looking for different ways to inform our practice and expand our knowledge. It almost feels like a rite of passage to throw ourselves into new techniques that bring a new depth to our design concepts. 


We weren’t quite sure what to expect — bobbin lace sounded both delicate and daunting — but we were drawn to the idea of working with thread, tradition, and time-honoured technique. 


We began with the basics - learning how to wind the bobbins, the techniques needed to keep the design secure, how to make twists in the patterns and pinning the threads to guide the lace’s shape. We were guided by the very capable Peter, who was passionate as he was knowledgeable. He made us feel entirely a part of the community from the get-go. 


From the beginning, Lizzie was enamoured with the process and took to it like a duck to water; her extreme focus was evident through her work. Her usual vibrancy and extroversion were tempered with a creative flow, which was beautiful to witness. So much so that she purchased and took home a hand-curated starter kit created by the bobbin lace group (a kit so large that we worried about fitting it in our car). This was an act of kindness that was spoken about by all of us over the next few days and is a testament to the character of the lace-making community. 


It was wonderful experiencing such a vibrant group of individuals who had devoted a large portion of their lives to this craft. Mothers and daughters. Husbands and wives. A beautiful melting pot of people aiming to preserve this special tradition. 


By the end of the session, after our egos had been slightly bruised and we had consumed a suitable amount of tea and biscuits to maintain morale, we each were able to leave with intricate snake designs.


We’ve been able to use these skills to explore other forms of lacework, which we plan to include in our couture garment design for the Worth 200 exhibition, to be held in The Red Hall in Bourne, Lincolnshire, later this year. It is a love letter to couture and heritage crafts while maintaining modernity through our creation. We are excited to share this project soon. 

Whether you're a textile enthusiast or simply curious, we’d highly recommend a bobbin lace workshop. It’s meditative, challenging, and unexpectedly rewarding. You may end up falling in love with this magical process.


  • Kat Horrocks, Lizzie Rayfield and Jemima Wilcox (3rd year Fashion Design students, University of Lincoln)

 
 
 

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