Saturday, May 18, a.m.

Coggeshall is a very small town. By its population of 4,000 it is considered a village, but because it has a market it is considered a town. According to one shopkeeper that Barbara & I spoke with, it is one of the oldest villaages in the country as the Romans had a town set up here. A lesser claim to fame is that it is the last place in the country where a witch was burned at the stake. (That's a not-so-pleasant claim to fame.)

But we were here to find out about Coggeshall lace, a type of tambour work which is really not lace but embroidery. Lace in general is created out of thread using a needle or shuttle (and can be attached to fabric). Embroidery is worked directly on the fabric.

The word tambour is based on a word that means drum. Tambourine is another related word. The fabric is stretched drum-head tight before working on it. In Coggeshall lace, the base fabric is a mesh fabric like tulle. The lecturer-demonstrator for the lace was Sue, who told us she prefers to use cotton tulle which is still made, although usually for use as mosquito netting. She said nylon tulle is difficult to work with because the thin nylon can cut the thread if the thread is pulled too tightly.

The only stitch that is used is a chain stitch, and a very small hooked needle (similar to a crochet hook) is used to create it. (Sue creates her own hooking tool by using a chain-stitch sewing-machine needle and putting it into a handle.) The design is usually done in one continuous line, unless there is a small circle or other shape in a large open area. This is a simple technique that creates very lovely results.