Lace fabrics still have their true origins disputed. While some historians claim that the art of making lace fabrics started in Greece in the late 1490s, while the Flemish claim the 1880s. However, its production received great popularity in Renaissance Italy, especially in the city of Venice.
Traditionally, before the advent of power looms in the late 18th century, lace was exclusively woven by hand. It was an ‘openwork’ weave created using a pin, bobbin, or needle, by employing the knitting, sewing, crocheting, or knotting (tatting) system. Lace threads were typically derived from flax fibres and later silk, or metallic gold threads. By the 19th century, cotton threads were used to produce lace.
Lace is mainly classified by the process of its production and is often named after the region or town where it is made. The well-known lace-producing centres were established in France, Italy, and Flanders (the northern part of Belgium).
Main Types of Lace Fabrics
Needle Lace
Needle lace fabrics are basically hand-produced with a needle and thread and are known to be the most flexible way of lacemaking. This art of lace production is done more rapidly than the bobbin lace process, but the more intricate needle laceworks are time-consuming. Many collectors of fine lace claim that needle lace, also called point lace, is the epitome of lacemaking. The finest of antique needle lace fabrics were made from the finest threads, rarely found anywhere today.
Knotting (Tatting) Lace
Tatting is a traditional hand-crafting method that was used to produce durable lace fabrics. It was constructed using a series of loops and knots, and today, the method is still used to make luxury lace fabrics, décor textiles, lace edgings, collars and doilies. The unique production process dates back to the early 19th century and the term is derived from the French word frivolité.
Bobbin Lace
Bobbin lace fabrics are produced with bobbins and a pillow filled with straw, sawdust, or Styrofoam. In the old days, the bobbins were made from turned wood or bone. The bobbin holds the threads which are woven together and held in place with pins stuck into a pillow, to form a pattern. Bobbin lace is also called bone lace. The popular Chantilly lace is made using this process.
Other types of lace fabrics are cut-work lace, crocheted lace, tape lace, knitted lace, guipure and machine-manufactured lace.
Traditional Handmade Lace Materials
Up until the 16th century, open-work embroidery art was the favourite decoration that appears to have evolved into lacemaking. During the Renaissance Era, the first book of embroidery patterns and lacework appeared on the market, but it was during the reign of Richard III of England that the term “lace” was first used to describe the royal wardrobe.
The best-known lace materials were produced in Milan, Venice and Genoa and until this day, the Italians still claim they invented the needle lace. Some of the known traditional lace textiles include:
Filet lace – A type of lace that is embroidered on a piece of net fabric.
Reticella lace – Lace made with the “drawn and cut” textile construction process.
Duchess lace – Traditional bobbin lace fabrics produced in Belgium from around the mid-19th century. It was generally regarded as a cheaper version of Brussels lace.
Chantilly lace – A top-quality handmade bobbin silk lace named after the city of Chantilly in France, where it originated from. This lace production dates back to the 17th century and is known for its fine ground, heavy detail, and distinctly outlined patterns.
Irish lace – This lace material is generally of the crochet genre and material includes a few variations like Limerick lace (embroidered on a net material), and Carrickmacross lace, a form of sandwich lace that may be described as a decorated net.
Nottingham lace – The name “Nottingham lace” is a broad term used for machine-produced lace. It is an inexpensive lace and is commonly used for one-piece curtains.
Brussels lace – This lace type covers a wide variety of bobbin lace fabrics and is a form of pillow lace that originated from Brussels.
The advent of the industrial revolution in the 18th century brought on a change in the lacemaking process. The first lace made by machine was produced towards the end of the century, however, it was not until the first decade of the 19th century that a wide net fabric that did not unravel was produced. From this time, the net became the basis for new lacemaking.
There were constant improvements to the lace machines. First, there were patterned net fabrics, and these were soon followed by more complex styles. By the late 19th century, almost every type of handmade lace had a machine-made copy.
Antique Wedding Veils – 1800s to 1970s
Contemporary Lace Fabrics
Modern lace came about as a result of American inventiveness and is based on a simple construction process. They are more intricate, look magnificent, and have been developed to a high degree of perfection by its pioneer, Grace B. McCormick.
Types of contemporary machine-produced lace range from dainty needlepoint lace to very elaborate types like the Royal Battenburg, befitting only for royals. Today, the majority of fine lace materials come from England and France. Types of contemporary lace include:
- Guipure lace
- Baby lace
- Voile lace
- Organza lace
- Swiss lace
The beauty of contemporary lace is beyond question. With textures and designs varying from ‘extreme’ exquisite delicacy, to an extravagant opposite, they are all produced with countless braid arrangements in different patterns and forms, all connected by a great number and kinds of stitches.