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Books about Bobbin Lace

Please note that web links change. I will try to keep these up-to-date but cannot guarantee it. If you get a missing link, then try searching for the name using Google. It would be nice if you could tell me as well!


My own lace books

I have written three books on bobbin lace. They are available a Kindle book (an e-book) and in print. I'm afraid that the printed book costs more than the e-book.


How to make Bobbin Lace by Jo Edkins: This teaches you to make lace, assuming you are starting from the very beginning. It describes the equipment you need (and cheap substitutes!), and takes you through a lot of stitches and techniques in 22 easy patterns. Only 12 pairs of bobbins required throughout!

Click here for the patterns used in this book.

Buy UK - buy USA


Bobbin Lace Stitches and Techniques by Jo Edkins: This is a reference book of the basics. It describes stitches, simple and complex grounds, headsides and footsides, and other mysteries such as picots and tallies. It uses lots of diagrams, and step by step instructions.

Buy UK - buy USA


Using Colour in Bobbin Lace by Jo Edkins: This book teaches you how to use colour in Torchon bobbin lace, with 64 patterns and variations. It covers simple grounds, headsides (fans and scallops), footsides, shapes such as diamonds and zigzags, rose ground and spiders. There are explanations for further ideas, including adapting existing patterns for colour, and a section about colour theory. This book is suitable for lacemaking beginners.

Click here for the patterns used in this book.

Buy UK - buy USA


Other people's books about lace

The Book of Bobbin Lace Stitches by Bridget M. Cook and Geraldine Stott
Photos and diagrams explaining different types of lace stitches
Buy UK - buy USA

Pillow Lace and Bobbins by Jeff Hopewell
A booklet showing antique pillows, bobbins and lace equipment
Buy UK - buy UK

Identification of Lace by Pat Earnshaw
Descriptions of all different types of lace (not just bobbin)
Buy UK - buy USA

A Dictionary of Lace by Pat Earnshaw
Buy UK - buy USA


Books about lace available online

These are old books on lace, available online for free:

Le Pompe - 1559 lace pattern book

Nuw Modelbuch - 1561 lace pattern book

Madame Goubaud's pillow lace patterns, and instructions in Honiton lace making (1800)

Ancient needlepoint and pillow lace by Alan Cole (1875)

Lace work : a handbook by Mary Bradford (1896)

Lace, Its Origin and History by Samuel L. Goldenberg (1904)

Pillow lace - a practical handbook by Elizabeth Mincroff and Margaret Marriage (1907)

Chats on Old Lace and Needlework by Emily Leigh Lowes (1908)

The Art of Modern Lacemaking (1891)

Seven Centuries of Lace by Maria Margaret Pollen (1908)

Devon pillow lace: its history and how to make it by A. Moody (1908)

The art of bobbin lace by L and R Tebbs (1911)

Supplement to the art of bobbin lace by L and R Tebbs (1911)

Point And Pillow Lace by Mary Sharp (1913)

The Romance of the Lace Pillow by Thomas Wright History of Lacemaking in Bucks Beds, Northants (1919)

Church lace : being eight ecclesiastical patterns in pillow-lace by M Milroy (1920)

A lace guide for makers and collectors by Gertrude Whiting (1920)
Chapter 4 of this book contains many grounds and fillings - very useful, but hard to access online. So I have copied it onto my website, providing an easier index. Click here to access it.


Collections of material about lace available online

Digital Archive of Documents Related to Lace

Lace and Lacemaking from The Online Books Page

Resources for renaissance bobbin lace



Click here for other bobbin lace references.