You already know how many pairs go on each starting pin and how long the thread should be. LaceLoad holds those numbers in one place: an ordered pin map, the exact number of bobbins to wind, the cut for every pair, and a checklist to work through at the pillow.
For a lacemaker who has the setup requirements already, from a pattern, a teacher, a guild sheet or their own plan, and wants them written down clearly before winding starts.
What LaceLoad does not do
This belongs near the top rather than in small print at the bottom, because it is what decides whether the app is any use to you.
- It does not read your pattern. There is no scanning, no photograph, no pricking recognition. You type in the pairs; the app never works out how many there should be.
- It does not decide how much thread you need. Every length on every screen is arithmetic on a number you entered. The app has no idea how much thread a design consumes and never claims an amount is enough.
- It does not supply lace patterns or teach lace. No pattern library, no stitch instructions, no lessons.
- Version 1 covers the initial setup only. Pairs added, removed, exchanged or moved partway through a piece are outside it.
What you enter
- The project. A name, an optional reference to the pattern or source, optional notes, and the unit you want to work in.
- Your threads. Named entries for this project, each with an optional colour name and swatch. The name is what counts; the colour is support.
- Starting pins, in left-to-right order, each with a short label of your choosing or a plain Pin 1, Pin 2 and so on.
- Pair groups under each pin. A group is one or more pairs that share a role, a thread and a length instruction. Roles are worker or weaver, passive, gimp, or a label you write yourself.
- One length mode per group. Either a target length for each bobbin, or one complete continuous cut for a pair. The fields for the other mode are not there, so there is nothing to fill in by mistake.
What you get back
Thread lengths come from your entries.
Exact totals, from your own numbers
| Thread | Pairs | Bobbins | Thread total |
|---|---|---|---|
| W, White linen | 5 | 10 | 10 m |
| E, Ecru | 1 | 2 | 2 m |
| G, Gimp | 2 | 4 | 4 m |
| Total | 8 | 16 | 16 m |
The bobbin count is exact: two bobbins per pair, every time. The thread total is the sum of what you entered and nothing else. Subtotals follow your own thread names and your own roles.
Two ways to give a length, and the app shows which one it used
Makers are given lengths in both of these forms, and the difference matters once you are cutting. LaceLoad keeps them apart and prints the equation beside the result, so you can always see how a number was reached.
Per bobbin target
A length for each of the two bobbins, plus an optional bridge allowance of extra unwound thread between them.
3 pairs, 1 m per bobbin, 10 cm bridge: 3 x (2 x 1 m + 10 cm) = 6.3 m
Continuous cut per pair
One complete length to cut for the pair. No bridge allowance is added, and no bridge field exists in this mode.
4 pairs, 2.5 m continuous cut: 4 x 2.5 m = 10 m
The bridge allowance is extra thread you asked for. It is not waste, not take-up, and not a recommendation. The app never adds a margin of its own, and never applies a multiplier because a pair happens to be the worker.
Metres, centimetres, inches or yards
Work in whichever unit your instructions use. Switching between them changes what you read, not what you entered: one inch is treated as exactly 25.4 mm and one yard as exactly 914.4 mm, and moving from yards to metres and back leaves your value exactly where it was.
Where a converted value cannot be shown exactly in the digits available, it is marked as approximate rather than being quietly rounded, and a length with real thread in it is never displayed as zero.
A checklist at the pillow
- One large row per physical pair, in pin order, then group order, then pair order. Each row states the pin, the pair number, the role, the thread and the cut from your entries.
- Tap to mark a pair wound, tap again to undo. Stop, close the app, come back, and you are on the same pair.
- Reorder the pins or the groups and the checklist reorders with them. The pair you already wound stays wound, because progress belongs to the pair itself and not to its position in a list.
- Change a winding instruction on a group whose pairs are already done and the app tells you first, by name and by count, exactly which completions that resets. Renaming a pin or switching the display unit resets nothing.
A setup card you can print
Preview and share a PDF of the plan, in A4 or US Letter, drawn from the same saved project the screen is showing: project name and source, totals, per thread and per role subtotals, the pins in their current order, every group's equation, and the winding checklist with the progress you have made.
The card is a reference sheet for beside the pillow. It carries the words Setup card, not a lace pattern, it is not printed to scale, it is not a pricking, and it repeats that the lengths came from your entries.
Saved plans
- A local library of projects with pair count, bobbin count, progress and when you last touched them.
- Rename, duplicate, archive, restore. A duplicate is a genuinely separate plan with fresh identity and no progress carried over.
- Permanent deletion happens only from the archive, and only after a confirmation that names the project.
- A fresh install starts empty, with an example you can load on purpose. Nothing is added to your library unless you ask for it, and the example is never presented as your own work.
- Export a backup file and restore it later. A restore is checked completely and shown to you before anything is replaced.
If something goes wrong with the file
Plans are written to disk carefully: to a temporary file first, read back, and only then put in place, with the previous good version kept. If the current file will not load, LaceLoad says so and offers that previous version. It does not open an empty library as though your work never existed, and it does not overwrite a file it could not read.
Price
2.99 US dollars
One purchase. Every feature is included: unlimited local projects, both length modes, the winding checklist, the setup card and the backup file.
That is the United States price. Prices in other regions come from Apple's regional price tiers and vary. No subscription, no in-app purchases, no advertising, and nothing held back for a paid upgrade.
Your data
Your projects are stored on your device. The app does not upload them to us, has no analytics and needs no account, and it works with the connection turned off. Device backups may include them, and a card or backup file you export goes wherever you choose to send it. The privacy page has the detail.
Requirements
iPhone, iOS 17 or later. Portrait and landscape. Dynamic Type, including the larger accessibility sizes, and VoiceOver.