The equipment used historically for hand lace-making varied in different countries and regions, partly as a matter of tradition and partly according to the type of lace being made. Most bobbins have a long body with a narrow neck onto which the thread is wound. Wood and bone were the materials most commonly used, with ivory, metal and glass very occasionally. In the counties of the English East Midlands, where the type of bobbin lace made required the threads to be kept under tension during its working, bobbins were made of pieces of wood, bone or ivory weighted with a loop of copper wire attached to the base strung with coloured beads. The bobbins were often also decorated with inscriptions, commemorating events or with names or messages.