BRUSSELS LACE

A point lace, having a mesh made with the pillow and bobbins. A silk lace with the meshes partly arched and partly straight. A lace with a hexagonal mesh formed by plaiting four threads to a perpendicular line of mesh.

The 17th century name for Devonshire lace.

Lace was originally a heavy texture more like embroidery and of two kinds, Lacis or "darned netting" and Cutwork. Laces, often worked in gold threads and coloured silks was also called " spiderwork." Lace is purely an English word, derived from the Anglo-Norman lacier, to lace, bind, tie or fasten, etc. The word appears to have been first used in 1519. It is a fabric of open mesh or net formed by crossing and intertwining threads. Lace was originally purely a hand craft, but today it is machine made as well. There are three main classes: - Point lace, pillow lace and machine-made lace. Point Lace - When the term " Point " is applied to a lace fabric it should mean that the lace has been made by the needle with a single line of thread, but it is now given to many machine-made laces. There are numerous laces sold as point laces and each has some feature not possessed by any other, many of these laces are known by the town where they are manufactured. Pillow Lace - These laces are made by intertwining threads on pins fixed in a cushion over a pattern fastened on to the cushion. Many pillow laces are part hand and part machine made such as Honiton, Valenciennes, Irish, etc. Machine-made Laces - There are three principal classes which can be placed (1) warp fabrics; (2) plain nets; (3) Levers' laces. Warp Laces - This is the earliest form of lace produced on a machine which was the invention of the Rev. William Lee in 1589, and was an adaption of the stocking frame. A warp lace is a series of upright threads that twist upon each other to form a fabric. There are no crossing threads. They are made in widths up to 10-in. and are the cheapest laces made. Plain Nets - John Heathcote, the inventor of the bobbin-net machine in 1809, laid the foundation of the machine-made lace trade. These are formed by a diagonal bobbin thread intertwining with the upright warp threads so that when the web is taken off the machine the mesh is honeycomb shaped. Other shapes followed, such as the square mesh. Cotton, silk, mohair and rayon are all used in making plain nets. Standard plain nets are as follows: - Brussels Net - Close mesh, specially selected fine yarns, in widths 36-in. to 80-in. The mesh varies up to 20 holes per inch. Both stiff and soft finish. Mosquito Net - Made in many qualities and closeness of mesh and from 54-in. to 108-in. Cable Net - Made up to 300-in. wide and from coarser yarns than other laces. This fabric is used as the ground fabric for curtains, etc. Bretonne Net - A very fine fabric, close mesh and finer yarns than Brussels, very soft and smooth finish. Point d'esprit - Fabrics with spots at regular distances. The yarns are not as good a quality as Brussels. Finished both soft and stiff. Paris Nets - Very stiff finish, used by the millinery trade for foundation work. Illusion Nets - A star-shaped mesh fabric, very fine yarns, used for veils and evening dress purposes. Silk Mechlins, or Tulles - A net more round than square in mesh and made from fine silk yarns. Malines is a tulle made in Belgium. Chantilly, or Silk Brussels - Similar to Brussels, but made from black dyed silk yarns. Chambray Nets - A finer all silk net than Chantilly. Levers' Lace Fabrics - These are various fancy laces and are produced on the lace machine fitted with a jacquard. Samuel Draper of Nottingham combined the jacquard with the lace machine in 1813. John Levers invented the machine. Varieties of these laces are Cluny laces. Torchons, Maltese lace. All-overs and numerous others.

Lace with an open pattern made part open and part closed stitch, giving a shaded effect. They are very fine laces. It is called " Rose Point " when the design is of roses, and " Point Gaze " when the designs are of very fine, open, delicate motifs. Originally, Brussels was hand-made, designs worked separately, and applied to a net ground worked with bobbins. This fabric was smuggled into England, and called Point d'Angleterre, to avoid duty.

Fine pillow lace having the patterns joined together by small loops on their edges.

A curtain fabric made in St. Gall, embroidered in chain-stitch upon plain net by machine. The original was hand-made Flemish lace. Saxony Brussels is a double net, made by laying one net over another and embroidering by hand.

Same as Brussels Lace.

Same as Brussels Lace.

A form of Brussels lace having rose motifs appliqued to a net ground.

There are numerous plain net fabrics in use and the styles as under are the most popular. Cable Net - A coarse net for use as a ground for figured lace curtains, bedspreads, etc. This is the heaviest of the cotton nets. Brussels Net - A net made of very fine yarns and in a close mesh. Used for trimmings, ladies' ties, etc. Bretonne Net - Very similar to Brussels, but finished much softer, and sold in white, ecru, cream and other light shades. Mosquito Net - This style has a wider mesh than any other net and besides its uses as a mosquito net it is used for trimmings. Fine lace yarns are used for all above nets except the cable net, and they are made on the " bobbin net machine" in many widths (see also Stirrup Net, Fly Net, Rose Net, English Net)

A machine-made fabric for curtains, such as made in Nottingham. A design is worked by hand or machine on a machine-made net ground. Saxony Brussels curtains have a double net in the ground (see also Brussels Curtains). Swiss Brussels curtains have a single net with a machine-made chain-stitch forming the designs.

Pillow laces made in imitation of Lille, Brussels and Valenciennes. Most of the lace made in Northamptonshire was called baby lace, but the fine lace now made of the Lille styles is known as English Lille.

Pillow lace making, dates from the 16th century in Saxony. The best resembles old Brussels, but the greatest production is coarse Guipure lace, known as Eternelle and Plaited lace.

The lace made in this town since the 15th century. First the laces were darned netting, then imitation Flanders lace, and now the people make Brussels styles.

A fine lace net, closely resembling Brussels, but not so fine in the mesh. It is an imitation of the Run Laces; usually worked in coloured silks on coloured net.

Lace made in this town early in the 17th century and still produced. It is chiefly of the Brussels type, made of very white and clean threads.

English bobbin lace, similar to Brussels point.

A Swiss machine-made embroidered net in imitation of Brussels. Also known as Broderie Anglaise. Made at Neufchatel of fine cotton thread. Nottingham manufacturers produce imitations in coarser cotton for use as curtains.