A practical handbook for learning bobbin (pillow) lace, with a historical summary of European lace, chapters on pillows, bobbins, pins, patterns and thread, and a graded course of fifty patterns. The patterns are grouped by type: Russian, Torchon, Maltese and Cluny, plaited lace, and Saxony guipure. Each pattern has a pricking diagram and step-by-step working instructions, and photographs show finished pieces. The book ends with a bibliography, a glossary of technical terms and a table of comparative thread sizes.