Welcome to the lace studio

Discover the beauty of hand made, traditional lace bobbins, quality lacemaking tools and needlework designs created with the lacemaker in mind.

Don't worry if you are new to bobbin lace, cross stitch or blackwork you will find hints, tips and information on all three throughout the pages of the-lace-studio.com

You may not have thought of combining cross stitch, blackwork and lacemaking before. They go together surprisingly well!

In fact did you know that blackwork was once called "Poor man's lace"? Being much quicker to stitch and cheaper to produce it was used to decorate clothes much as real bobbin lace would have been amongst the upper classes.

I'll show you how you can imitate lace with blackwork patterns and you will be able to create intriguing borders that show off your cross stitch lacemaker to perfection. Borders so realistic that your friends will have to look closely to discover the truth.

With stitching patterns ranging from small cards to large pictures to stitch and frame you will find something for everyone amongst the lace studio collection.

Try a free blackwork lesson first, and create a pretty lace-like motif which is elegant enough to set in a coaster for the coffee table, but don't blame me if you get hooked, blackwork embroidery can be rather addictive!

As can bobbin lace itself of course. I have been making lace for over 50 years and have learned a thing or two during that time that I would love to pass on. Think of me as your virtual lace teacher. I'll show you the basics and introduce you to techniques and variations of lace that you may not have tried before.

You will find many photos of antique lace scattered amongst these pages, from my vast collection. After all what is the good of having such wonderful textiles if I can't share them with you? Enjoy.

Liz Bartlett

Needlework in miniature

Hand crafted lace bobbins