The Coloured Thread of Needle Lace

For coloured flowers, leaves and three-dimensional motifs in Turkish needle lace (oya) the most used thread is the DMC mini ball (Special Dentelles No 80): a tiny 5 g ball, very fine and tightly twisted mercerised cotton, in more than 60 colours identical to the floss codes. It holds the knot, stands upright when starched and does not fade for years. This category holds the mini ball colours for embroidery and lace; the technique, needle and quantity guide is on the main DMC Mini Ball page. For white-ecru and heavier sizes use Cordonnet Special, for heavy crochet lace Babylo.

Needle, Knot and Quantity

Use a size 11–12 long lace needle and 50 cm of thread; tie the knots at even tension, a tight knot keeps the lace upright. In tatting wind the thread tightly on the shuttle; in crochet lace use a 0.6–0.75 mm steel hook. One ball of the main colour for a scarf edge, 3–5 colours for flowered lace; a ball is about 90 m. Starch the finished lace with sugar water or spray starch, shape and dry; wash at 40°C.