April, i p i 6 
33 
An Ipswich home in 
which lace was made 
in the early days and 
where it may still be 
seen to-day 
EARLY LACE-MAKING IN AMERICA 
Which is a Phase of Colonial Handicraft Neglected by Writers on 
That Subject — Also a Footnote on Hand-woven Bed Quilts 
MABEL F. BAINBRIDGE 
I PSWICH, situated on the Massachusetts coast some thirty 
miles north of Boston, is the one place in the United States 
where in the early days bobbin or pillow lace makers settled. 
That they came from the Midland counties north of London 
is proven both by the town records and by the kind of lace 
which they made, a lace peculiar to that district. 
Their hands were empty of implements to ply their craft, 
but were skilled as are only the hands of generations of lace 
makers. Nothing thwarted, they made their own “pillows,” 
the sort known as a bolster pillow. Lacemakers’ pillows of 
this type were some 12" long by 25" in circumference. These 
cylindrical pillows the early Ipswich lacemakers stuffed with 
hay, pounded very hard, using a heavy hand-woven linen as 
a covering. The upper part of a stocking was slipped over 
the pillow to keep it clean. The homespun covering and the 
stocking were gathered at the ends, but not completely closing 
them, as openings were always left to facilitate turning the 
muff-like pillows. The more fastidious 
lacemakers pressed sweet-scented herbs 
into the ends of the cases. The pil¬ 
low, when not in use, rested in a basket 
which kept it from rolling, as will be 
seen in one of the accompanying illus¬ 
trations, which shows a lacemaker’s pil¬ 
low resting in an old Malay measuring 
basket. This pillow, according to extant 
records, was used by Lydia Lord Lake- 
man who was born in 1781. On it lie 
some of the old parchment lace patterns, 
and the pins used in making the lace are 
rusted with age. A little bag was pinned 
on the back of the pillow to hold the lace 
as it was finished and a cover of bright 
printed Indian cotton was always thrown 
over all the work. 
The Ipswich Bobbins 
In the Midland Counties, the English 
home of the Ipswich settlers in Massa¬ 
chusetts, the bobbins were distinctive and very decorative. They 
were made of bone or wood prettily carved and often inlaid 
with silver or pewter, and had one feature absolutely unique— 
bright beads hung from their ends. Ardent youths carved 
them for their sweethearts, and the history of the bobbins on 
a single pillow would fill a small volume. Apparently our 
forefathers did not bring any bobbins with them, evidently 
adhering to the Puritan principles which, in guiding them to 
our shores, disdained provision for “finery.” Later they fash¬ 
ioned for themselves simple bobbins of bamboo. These were, 
as one may see in the illustration, bamboo of varying sizes, cut 
about 5" long, with a wide groove whittled out below the head 
to hold the thread. These bobbins make the most fascinating 
clicking sound imaginable as they are “thrown.” They are 
hollow, and being of different sizes have many notes. 
Nowhere in the world, so far as the writer knows, is an¬ 
other bamboo bobbin to be found. If we recall that Ipswich 
was one of our important ports in those days, and that the old 
town was filled with Oriental treasures brought back by sea 
captains, we can understand how our lacemakers were able to 
get bamboo as a material for bobbin-making. It doubtless came 
with the exquisite china, embroideries, carved ivories, etc., 
which sailor husbands and lovers brought to their dear ones 
after the return voyages from the Orient. 
The Patterns 
The original lace patterns or “prick¬ 
ings” as they are called, I have reason to 
believe, came from England. They are 
of sheepskin parchment such as is used 
for drumheads. Sometimes a “pricking” 
is made from a single strip of parchment 
and again the long strip is made by piece- 
ing every few inches. I have seen writ¬ 
ing and figures on patterns showing that 
old deeds were utilized for them. The 
holes pricked in the pattern directed the 
placing of the pins which were to make 
the pattern. The two rows of pin holes 
in the pricking here illustrated indicate 
that that pattern was made in two widths. 
Note also that there were no pins to hold 
the mesh; that seems, to the ordinary 
modern lacemakers, an almost impossible 
method. The pins used were fine lace¬ 
makers’ pins. In early days, of course, 
such pins were all handheaded. 
How the Lace Was Made 
The method of making lace, as followed by the early lace¬ 
makers in America, was that followed, generally speaking, 
everywhere in making bobbin lace, whether made in the native 
wilderness of Colonial Massachusetts or in the doorway of 
A bobbin lace pillow used by Lydia 
Lakeman in the late 18tli Century, 
resting in its basket in which it was 
kept when not in use 
