Canadian Lacemaker Gazette

Lace CANADA Dentelles

Canadian Lacemakers – Coast to Coast

Imagine having someone in your neighbourhood or within driving distance who can make lace and never knowing about them!

Have you ever wondered how many lacemakers there are in Canada? The latest estimate is now updated to 950 names to possibly more than 1,200. We have many talented people who would be excited to learn there are others who are able to make lace. We are a unique group of people. Please join us and participate in this Canada wide search!

CLG has a registry list of lacemakers across Canada. If you are interested in participating or have questions, contact the editor: clgeditor @ gmail.com

Give your name, town or city and province. You will receive a registration number, example (23-240). The first number is the year, followed by your number. Personal info remains confidential.

A subscription is welcome but is not necessary to be included as a lacemaker in Canada. If you are interested in seeing a sample edition, email the editor! 

Example:  Jane S.  from Regina, SK (23-245)  Lace types: bobbin, needle, tatting, crochet, knit. Information to appear on the list of provinces below: Saskatchewan: (6) Regina 1

State the type of lace you make, or know how to make: bobbin, needle, tatting, crochet, knit, etc. You must submit your own information. The results will be updated regularly. The number of lacemakers by province/ territory will continue to grow as the information is collected.

Some are newcomers to lacemaking, others are busy or have retired from active lacemaking. A wide range of resources are available and we are seeing a growing interest in this art form!

See √ invitation and checklist of skills for the registry in French below, and further down for English:

√ Registre du Canada des dentellieres information 2023 ♥

√ Vous êtes invités à vous inscrire forme 2023

Lacemakers Coast-To-Coast:

Count Yourself In!

Our Goal is to count more Lacemakers in Canada by province, starting January 1, 2023

√ You are Invited to Register English ~ Print Form 2023

The Canada Lacemaker count is by province… Provinces (or territories) are listed from west to east. Locations are listed in alphabetical order. Are there more? Yes! Updates are ongoing.

Registered already? You will receive an email notice about our special prices for Swap ‘n Shop “End of Summer Sale” in August! Gazette Subscribers receive 15% discount in April and October.

British Columbia: (48) 108 Mile Ranch 1, Abbotsford 1; Campbell River 1; Chilliwack 4; Comox 2; Coquitlam 1; Courtenay 4; Cumberland 1; Delta 1; Duncan 2; Halfmoon Bay 1; Hornby Island 1; Langley 1; Maple Ridge 1; Merville 1; New Westminster 1; North Saanich 1, Oliver 1; Powell River 3, Richmond 1; Royston 1; Saanichton 1; Slocan 1; Surrey 4; Vancouver 3; Vernon 1; Victoria 6; West Vancouver 1

Alberta: (10) Calgary 7; Edmonton 2; Rocky Mountain House 1

Saskatchewan: (5) Estevan 1; Regina 1; Saskatoon 3

Manitoba: (14) Baldur 1; Brandon 1; Cypress River 1; Lyleton 1; Swan Lake 1; Winnipeg 9

Ontario: (87) Alliston 1; Arva 1; Barrie 1; Beamsville 1; Belleville 1; Bracebridge 1; Cambridge 2; Coldwater 2; Cornwall 1; Dunrobin 1; Earlton 1; Elliot Lake 1; Elora 2; Etobicoke 1; Godfrey 1; Gore Bay 1; Guelph 1; Hamilton 3; Innerkip 1; Inverary 1; Kincardine 1; Kingston 2; London 3; Markham 1; Mitchell 1; Nepean 1; Nobleton 1; North York 1; Orillia 1; Ottawa 23; Owen Sound 6; Paris 1; Perth 1; Rockwood 1; Spring Bay 1; St. Albert 1; St. Catharines 1; St. Thomas 1; Sault Ste. Marie 2; Stayner 1; Stratford 3; Sudbury 2; Toronto 2; Upper Welland 1; Utterson 1; Whitby 1; Windsor 1

Québec: (29) Alma 6; Chambord 1; Chicoutimi 2; Gatineau 4; Grand-Saint-Esprit 1; Hébertville-Station 1; Labrecque 1; Laval 1; Melbourne 1; Métabetchouan 1; Montréal 3; Notre-Dame d’Hébertville 1; Québec 1; Saguenay 1; Saint-Charles 1; Saint-Lazare 1; Saint-Marcel-de-l’Islet 1; Sorel-Tracy 1

New Brunswick: (5) Dieppe 1; Fredericton 2; Hampton 1; Hanwell 1

Nova Scotia: (8) Brule 1; Caribou River 1; Centreville 1; Dartmouth 2; Little Harbour 1; Pictou 1; Waverley 1

Prince Edward Island: (1)  Beach Point 1

Newfoundland: (1) St. John’s 1

Yukon: (2) Whitehorse 2

Northwest Territory: (0)

Nunavut: (0)

Canada Lacemakers in USA: (1) Macomb MI 1

Canada Lacemakers Overseas: (0)

In Memoriam: (5)

Current Total = 216 Canada Lacemakers / Dentellières au Canada

Updated: April 25, 2023

Moving? If you have changed location, contact the editor to update your listing.

New participants receive a Registry number by email after their information has been received. If you need confirmation of your registry, contact our office. clgeditor @ gmail.com (Add the email to your contact list).

Official certificates are sent out by email. If you need a copy mailed to you, please send a request.

Save your registry certificate in a file on your computer. It can be printed in different sizes and framed! One idea is to place a gold star  on the Canada map for your location. Some printer companies have special offers for images on mugs or T shirts, etc. Note: Certificates are available in both official languages, French or English. Newcomers are welcome!

♥ Finding Lacemakers in Canada Skills Update Fall 2022

♥ Les dentellières résultats du sondage sur les compétences l’automne 2022

Canada Map

ten years in the making

          This is the story of a project that seemed like a good idea at the time. Back in 2000 we saw a map of the Canadian provinces rendered in ceramics. We thought – why not in lace? How hard could it be?! Enthusiasm was high for the concept, which early on had included adding lace motifs around the perimeter to represent each province. This was an idea soon put aside for being too ambitious. Now, provinces and territories as shape were never drawn up with the lacemaker in mind. How tricky they turned out to be for adding fillings! We wondered about the whole idea, even though we thought a map of Canada in lace would look wonderful.

          When one lacemaker completed her piece promptly, we forged ahead. Our first piece was Baffin Island. Eventually we had the complement of bobbin lace pieces completed by 2008. It took a few more years for the assembly: connecting the pieces by hand-sewing to form the complete map, choosing a background fabric (appropriately, it is the Canada Tartan), affixing the map to it, and finally reinforcing the whole so that the map could readily be transported for display.

          Two lacemakers who gamely took part as beginners to bobbin lace have since become more proficient. It is a pleasure to have lacemakers of all skill levels represented.

          The problem of rendering the small islands on Canada’s north coast was solved by Margot Walker, who worked groups of them in tambour on net background. At Margot’s advice, we kept most of them on the net support fabric, without compromising the effect. Some of the net background can be seen on the map. The uncut net could represent ice between the islands!

          Our map made its first appearance in the Canada display at the OIDFA 2008 Congress in Groningen. It was shown again at our first BC Getaway, and officially completed in time for our second Getaway in 2011.

          We are grateful to all those who took part, even those who investigated making one of the provinces and decided it wasn’t for them. For the lacemakers whose lace is “on the map”, as promised at the beginning of the project, we have sent commemorative bobbins with thanks.

Participants in the Project

Newfoundland and Labrador—Margaret Merner

Maritimes (New Brunswick, PEI, Nova Scotia)—Nova Pate

Québec—filling design drawn by Louise Morin Daigle, worked by Cindy Rusak

Ontario—Jane Dobinson. Filling is a roseground variation

Nunavut—Beverley Walker. Filling is spider daisy from Stott and Cook’s “The Book of Bobbin Lace Stitches”

NU Baffin Island—anonymous

Northern Islands—Margot Walker in tambour (updated 2020 MW)

Northwest Territories mainland—Tricia McKenzie

Manitoba—Ruth Giles. Filling is moss ground from a book by Eeva-Liisa Kortelahti

Saskatchewan—Naomi Rogers

Alberta—anonymous

BC—Barbara Birke. Filling is diagonal ribbons

Yukon—Barbara Birke. Filling is feather ground, both from “The Book of Bobbin Lace Stitches”

Assembly—Tricia McKenzie and Margaret Merner

The project first appeared in the Canadian Lacemaker Gazette Vol. 25, No. 4, Summer 2011