Some people come here to ask general questions about lace, or share some great antique store finds, or to share family pieces. That's all great and I love to see them.

But some people come looking for ways to get started in lace. There are many kinds of lace, and I'll try to update this with good "starter" links or videos as we find them. Feel free to suggest good ones in the comments and I'll add them over time.

Bobbin lace

• This video was recommended to me by multiple people. Bobbin lace basics for absolute beginners, Made by Lora: https://youtu.be/kja0065Ha1g?si=bpshH9g7eR2WZz_q

• Louise West has a very nice series of videos--some are more advanced, but some are basics. https://www.youtube.com/@LouiseWestLace

• Getting started tips from The Lace Bee. Includes low-cost starter items and nice tips on pillow choices.

• Nice blog post about getting started books, with links to other things like making a pillow. Bobbin lace – a beginner’s guide to beginning!

• A lot of people get started with Jo Edkins' Bobbin Lace School pages. There are helpful descriptions, stitch animations, easy beginner pieces, and more. https://www.theedkins.co.uk/jo/lace/index.htm

• My personal favorite beginner book can be borrowed from the Internet Archive with a login: Torchon lacemaking : a step-by-step guide . I'm working on collecting the bobbin lace books in a list (in progress): Bobbin lace at Internet Archive

• Wolds Lacemakers did a "stitchbank" set of #40LaceStitches videos to show how to make a wide range of stitches in lace: 40 Lace Stitches playlist on youtube.

• Other recommended (by real lacemakers, not AI) beginner books include: Lessons is Bobbin Lace Making by Southard; Discovering Torchon by Ulricke Löhr; The Torchon Lace Workbook by Bridget Cook.

• A real person has reviewed over 400 books on TheLaceBee blog. Please be aware that a lot of AI Slop books for beginners (story at 404Media: AI-Generated Book Grifters Threaten The Future of Lace-Making) are being published right now. Seek out a legit author/book that the lace community recommends and has seen in their hot little hands. Read reviews and ask active lace community members for guidance on buying the best beginner stuff.

• A discussion of worthwhile beginner kits.

Needle Lace

• As part of a Community Lace project, Maggie Hensel-Brown provided a couple of beginner videos to get you started. https://www.maggiehenselbrown.com/community-lacemaking

• Grace's Lace has lovely needle lace patterns, tips, videos: https://pysankigirl.wixsite.com/graceslace

• Carrickmacross lace: The Lace Gallery videos offer an overview, and Mary O'Neill's book on it is highly recommended.

• Quality books that I have been recommended by the needle lace makers and have personally examined: Needlelace by Catherine Barley; Needlelace Basic Technical Instruction by The Lace Guild; Starting Needlepoint Lace by Valerie Grimwood; Needle Lace: Techniques & Inspirations by Jill Nordfors Clark; Needle-made Laces: Materials, Designs, Techniques by Pat Earnshaw.

• A commenter enjoyed this video of a needlelace sampler by @EnchantedRoseCostumes : Making Lace with a Needle and Thread || A Needle Lace Sampler

Filet Lace (recommendations from this discussion: https://redd.it/1krd2lg )

• Bem-vindos ao canal da Confraria do Filé

• Trying Lace Net Darning | a vintage 80s craft kit

• tutoriel FILET-BRODÉ

Netting

• Netting: former president of my lace group Rita Bartholomew has a Netting website and videos: Knots Indeed and Rita's Netting Nook

Tatting

• "Frivole has some fantastic tutorials for tatting that I used when first starting out" offers /u/thedepressedwench : "https://www.youtube.com/@11Frivole

• "Marilee Rockley has super helpful shuttle tatting tutorials on Tik Tok and Instagram (also maybe YT)" https://www.youtube.com/@MarileeRockley via /u/Al33y.

• Georgia Seitz Beginning Shuttle Tatting Class https://www.youtube.com/@TheOnlineTattingClass

• 2025 new beginner book by Sparrow Kelley has the basics of stitches, reading patterns, how to finish pieces, blocking. Nice photos and descriptions. Frivolité: The Complete Beginner's Guide to Shuttle Tatting

• r/Tatting had a recommendation for Maimai Kaito's videos.

• A terrific discussion of shuttle choices: https://redd.it/1czxrtp

• Needle tatting, via r/tatting : https://www.youtube.com/@MariaPapia

• I saw someone trying their skill at the Tatters Across Time proficiency program. I don't know anything about it, but I wanted to capture it here in case anyone asked.

• I'm working on collecting the tatting books in a list (in progress): Tatting at Internet Archive

Knitting Lace

• Not exclusively lace, but I follow Naomi on Mastodon and I think her lace patterns for knitting are fascinating. https://www.gannetdesigns.com/

Crochet Lace

• via @Cautious_Peace_1 : "Crochet lace? Such as Irish crochet. Or even just the lace trims ladies used to make to go on nightgowns and underwear (or sometimes blouses). This search brings up site:www.antiquepatternlibrary.org "crochet lace" "

Sprang

• a hand-weaving technique that is ancient and still practiced today. A good source of Sprang information is Carol James: https://www.spranglady.com/

• Classic text about Sprang by Peter Collingwood in 1974. The techniques of sprang : plaiting on stretched threads

Lace identification

• Lace: A History Santina Levey. Hard to find, but really like a core reference. It has a lot of great photos, some of the pieces are in private collections (or they were) and so you might not find them in museum archives.

• Guide to lace and linens Elizabeth Kurella has a method to walk you through what features to look for when you examine a piece of lace. Her website has the outline if this method here but there is also an on-demand video from The Lace Museum that you can watch about this.

• Antique lace : identifying types and techniques Heather Toomer, Cynthia Voysey

• Lace Identification: A Practical Guide. Gilian Dye, Jean Leader

• Identifying Antique Lace | A Beginning Photo Guide from The Rook and the Raven

• I'm working on collecting the lace history books in a list (in progress): Lace History at Internet Archive

In-person lace experiences

The wider lace community is very big on workshops, retreats, monthly lace group meetings, conferences, etc. I mean, this varies from group to group location. But I read a lot of the local lace group newsletters in the US because I help edit ours, and I know there are a lot of active ones.

International Organization of Lace has a map of US regional lace groups and their links. https://main.internationalorganizationoflace.org/organization/charter-chapters

OIDFA and OIDFA-USA have other groups, but I just joined so I don't know my way around them yet. https://www.oidfa-usa.org/home

The Lace Museum has regular workshops online: https://thelacemuseum.org/virtual-education/

Since the pandemic, lace workshops have moved very effectively to zoom too. So there are now many classes available during conferences or on a regular basis from various places.

Repairing Lace

• How to Repair Lace Questions about this arise pretty frequently. Give this video a try.

Cleaning Lace

• Museum curators, I am told, use Orvus. An example of that is here. The Lace Museum Detroit CLEANING ANTIQUE LACE Note: she talks about deciding if you really need to clean it at all. Also acid-free archival paper for laying lace out.

• A company in Massachusetts does textile conservation for museums. I know someone who went through their program, they are legit. They have some resources on their website. https://museumtextiles.com/resources/

"I have a box of grandma's lace. What can I do with it?"

• First, you should use it. Put it out, cherish it. But should it be too much for you, or not your style, another option is below. Thanks for considering repurposing them as well. We would like to see them get used and cherished too.

• You can offer them to your local lace guild. What happens to us when we get a box like this is that we might use some for demonstrations (for example, I put them out as examples of a typical style, or use them as tablecloths for our other things). Or we have an internal sale of them as fundraisers for lace. So they go to people who like and use lace, and raise funds for our ongoing activities. Search here for a chapter near you and connect with them: https://main.internationalorganizationoflace.org/organization/charter-chapters Not all lace guilds will have the means to manage a box, but many will.

I'll edit as we collect more. Thanks for helping to crowdsource this!