Binche is a dense, but fine lace that came from Belgium. The detailed pattern of perfume bottles was designed by the amazing teacher of the class, Kumiko Nakazaki. Her patterns and working diagrams made the pattern easier to work. To be clear, Binche is the hardest lace I’ve made to date, so the lace itself is far from easy. Challenging would be a great word to describe Binche.

I designed quite a few patterns in the Point Ground style of lace. Binche turns all of that design knowledge on its head. In ground lace, there is a logical path for each pair. Binche pairs split and passive/worker pairs randomly exchange jobs. Thankfully, Kumiko is INCREDIBLY knowledgeable about the mind-boggling lace technique.

Kumiko’s ability to draw diagrams on the fly is impressive. When needed, she sat next to me to draw/explain a part with beautiful accuracy. She is a truly talented teacher, and I highly recommend taking a class with her. I am truly glad I took the class, but I think I will keep designing my own work for now. I will revisit this technique when I am ready to level-up my skills.