Getting started with a new craft should be fun so it's good to know where to find the things you need.

Things you need:

• ​Pillows
  • Your first pillow
  • Pillow size
  • Pillow types
  • Straw or polystyrene / foam?
  • Choosing a secondhand pillow
  • Pillow suppliers

Your first pillow
Not sure if you want a flat pillow, a domed pillow, a straw pillow, a polystyrene pillow?  The easy solution is to borrow one.  If you are learning with a teacher, ask them if they might be willing to let you try out different pillows to see what works best for you.  Your pillow and bobbins are going to be your biggest investment, so it's worth taking some time to get it right.

If you can't wait to get started, then why not get a piece of high density foam - like the stuff used for roof installation, cover it with some cloth and start on your journey.  It will be flat, but these days most lacemakers use flatter pillows often call continental.

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Pillow sizes and styles
​You will be faced with loads of shapes and sizes of pillows, but for your first pillow I would recommend that you go for an 18" round pillow.  This is a good size for most things you will do in your first couple of years.  It's big enough to make a Christine Springett snake or a starter doilly.  You will come back to your 18" round pillow year after year and it's a great starter investment.

round / cookie / cushion style pillow

The next pillow I would invest in would be a block pillow that allows you to make long strips, corners and ... a table cloth!  You can even do ovals with a block pillow.
​After that its about buying pillows to match the projects you want to make but with an 18" round and a block pillow you have the two you need to get going.

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collar pillow

Pillow Types

• Round / Cookie / Cushion - These may be flat or domed
  • ​16" and under - travel pillow
  • 18" - standard working pillow
  • 24" - medium pillow for larger projects
  • 26" and above - large pillow for fans and collars etc
• Block Pillow - These have blocks which can move about on the pillow for making continuous strips or are all blocks set in a frame. 
  
  • Blocks are normally provided as full or half blocks, some pillows may have a selection of both types
  • Blocks are not standard.  Care should be taken if buying a second pillow where you want to use the blocks from one pillow on another.
  • Some pillow makers offer the option of a roller insert for a block pillow so that continuous lace can be made on the roller

• Roller Pillow - roller pillows let you make continuous lengths of lace by working round and round the roller
  • Check how the roller is fixed into the pillow. 
  • It should sit firmly when working, but be easy to move when you want to move your lace up
• ​Collar Pillow - Collar pillows have a fixed outer edge with a movable centre that turns.  
  • Normally named a collar pillow because it has a collar round the central disk, not because it's for making collars on.
•  Fan Pillow - This is a variation on the block pillow where the blocks are triangular rather than square.
  • The blocks sit as segments in a frame usually making a quarter or just over a quarter shape.
• Bolster Pillow - traditionally used for Bucks point and German / French lace, these are round cylinders of pillows. 
  • Because of their shape they need something to hold them in place.  A simple way to do this, is to use a bread basket to sit the pillow in.

roller pillow

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Straw or polystyrene / foam?
This is always going to come down to personal preference. 

​For me, using bone bobbins on a straw pillow, making lace with silk and using a traditional Bedfordshire pattern connects me to generations past.  Call me a romantic like Thomas Wright.

Straw pillows do have a weight behind them.  If you like to make lace on your lap, then a straw pillow with a large number of bobbins will be heavy, however placed on a table and that weight has gone.  Straw is outstandingly durable and a good straw pillow will last you a lifetime if you take good care of it.

Polystyrene / foam pillows can wear from pin damage, but I'm still using my first pillow  from 30 years ago and it's as good as it was the day I bought it.  I just take care to never start the same project in exactly the same place in order to minimise wear.  Adding a couple of layers of felt or felt carpet underlay to the top of your pillow will also reinforce the top and help it to last longer.

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Choosing a second hand pillow
Second hand pillows come up regularly on eBay and other selling markets.  So how do you go about choosing a pillow and knowing that it will be right for you?
What is it made of?

• Straw - Straw pillow are predominately from the UK.  These have a slightly crunchy sound when you rub your hand over them.
  
  • Straw pillows weight much more than polystyrene or foam.
    
  • What you need to be careful of - check that they are not infected with mites.  
  • Other variants - sawdust and seagrass are often used in pillows from continental Europe
• High-density polystyrene or foam - most pillow made in the UK from the 1980s onwards have been made with some form of polystyrene or foam.  The better the quality of the pillow the more likely it has a layer or two of felt on the top to stop the surface deteriorating.
• Both - some pillow will be made of both, for instance, the outer part of a pillow might be made of straw, and the blocks made of polystyrene.

Quality

• Firmness - you want a pillow that is still firm to the touch. 
  • Round pillows - check that the centre of the pillow, in a radius of about 6" is still firm to the touch and there are no spongy parts. 
  • Block pillows -  check that the centre lined of each block, both top to bottom and left to right is still firm to the touch.  Also check the top and bottom of each block.  Check  also that the blocks sit firmly in the frame and don't move too freely.
• Base - you are looking for a pillow that sits flat on the table and doesn't rock
  • ​Ring attachment -  some pillows come with a ring attachment to them - these are designed to allow them to be attached to a floor stand.  If you don't have a floor stand, then the ring attachment can be removed to let your pillow sit flat on a table.
  • Base - many pillows come with an MDF or hardboard base.  Depending on how the pillow has been stored, these can warp.  So, check that the pillow sits flat.

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Pillow Suppliers

Biggins Lace
Although when you first think of Biggins Lace, you think of the many patterns they have created, Biggins have been creating pillows for a number of years.

Biggins Lap Top Pillow is a great choice for those who want to sit and make lace whilst watching the telly as it has an integrated bean bag base

​Makit
Makit offer 'coin' shaped flat polystrene pillows as well as domed pillows, with and without an mdf base.  

MDF bases are useful if you want to put your pillow on a table or stand - you can put some non slip fabric under the base and keep your pillow in place.

D J Hornsby
D J Hornsby has been a stalwart in the Lacemaking community for years.  ​
Many of us have used the wonderful plastic bobbins that Dennis Hornsby had made from his own turned bobbins.

They still produce produce a selection of pillows.

Roseground 
​Roseground offer roller pillows in addition to the tradional styles as well as their travel block pillow.

​Travel pillows are just perfect for lace days and visiting friends and family.

​Harlequin Lace
Harlequin Lace make a variety of pillow from high density foam and also supply blocks for Church Meadow Crafts block pillows.

​They also offer unusal pillows for collars and fans along with pillow bags.

Mainly Lace
Mainly Lace supply both modern polystyrene​ and traditional straw pillows. 

​Outside of buying a straw pilllow from the continent, these are my first choice for straw pillows.

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