GIL DYE
Gil has always enjoyed playing with threads. She learned to crochet and knit lace as a child, discovered bobbin lace as a young mum and was introduced to needle-lace, tambour and other lace techniques while helping to prepare the City and Guilds lace syllabus. Gil was a founder member of the Westhope Group and has benefitted greatly from the shared knowledge and skills of other members. She enjoys teaching and has written beginners’ books including A Beginner’s Guide to Bobbin Lace (Search Press) with Adrienne Thunder, and An Introduction to Needlelace (Lace Guild). Other publications include Lace Identification, a Practical Guide (Crowood Press) with Jean Leader, and the self-published History of Lace in 100 objects.
Gil’s particular interest is the development of bobbin lace in the 16th and 17th centuries, studying and reproducing surviving lace and lace on portraits, then writing a series of pattern books on the subject. A special study, started during 2022, is the early 17th century Archdukes’ Coverlet - a unique lace panel composed of nearly 300 images worked using innovative bobbin lace techniques.