Pillow Lace

This is stated to have been first introduced about 1550 in Saxony, and consists of " netting, twisting, or plaiting threads drawn from spools or bobbins into lace, by passing them round pins upon a cushion." Fine lace worked by hand with bobbins on a cushion or pillow (see lace). The design is traced upon paper which lies on the pillow. Pins are inserted at cross lines on the design.

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

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.

The ground of pillow lace. The bars may be either plain or with a minute pearl edge, and consist of irregular threads or groups of threads drawn from one part of the pattern to another.

Lace produced from unbleached silk, and first made in Spain in 1745. It is a pillow lace, also known as " Nankins." Blonde lace today is made at Chantilly, France, in white, black and colours, of silk threads. It is a pillow lace with a net ground and patterns of rather heavy flowers. Those made made at Caen were softer and more delicate, and known as Blonde de Caen.

Another name for Pillow Lace. It is hand-made lace worked on a cushion from bobbins of thread. The pattern is drawn upon parchment which is then perforated with tiny holes. This pricked pattern is placed on the cushion, on the upper part of the pattern are fastened the ends of the threads unwound from the bobbins, which thus hang across the pillow. These bobbins are then twisted and so worked as to form the fabric.

There are two kinds, drawn thread and pillow. The drawn thread work is of good quality, but the pillow lace is quite ordinary and only used among the natives.

A pillow lace made on the Island of Peniche, near Lisbon, and is rather coarse and in black and white threads. Made wide and the workers use a long pillow. The laces have a fine filmy ground and very bold patterns.

A point lace of fine quality formed by what is known as the Flemish stitch. Flanders and Italy dispute the invention of this pillow lace. Lace of home manufacture was worn in the Low Countries in the 15th century. Similar lace to the Flemish is made in England and called Trolly.

Hand-made pillow lace of heavy linen thread, in a large, open rectangular knotted mesh; used for curtains, bed sets, draperies, etc. Usually contain rare patterns, all kinds of designs being worked in the net by darning. This lace is hand-made and is expensive. Imitation antique lace is sometimes used in draperies.

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.

Pillow lace remarkable for its fine quality. The art is supposed to have been introduced into North Schleswig by Queen Elizabeth, wife of Christian II of Denmark in 1515. About 1712 it was much improved by Braban women. Tonder lace and cut work lace are also made and sometimes get the term Schleswig attached to them.

Bobbin lace which is made from bone bobbins containing the threads (see Bobbin and Pillow Lace)

Genoa lace was known in the 15th century. Genoa was as celebrated for its pillow lace as Venice for its needle-made. The characteristic feature was its design, a kind of barleycorn-shaped pattern, radiating into rosettes from a centre.

A pillow lace with Reseau ground, formerly made at Gueuse, France, and known as Beggars' Lace.

Pillow lace was made at Arras in the 16th century and the industry continued until towards the end of the 18th century when the bobbin, lace called mignonette became established.

A cheap, cotton machine-made lace in simple designs. The motifs are leaves and flowers with heavy cord outline. Originally the term denoted a narrow pillow lace made in Paris prior to the Revolution.

Flemish pillow lace with a net ground, the design running largely to " pot " effects. Also called Pot lace.

A variety of silk pillow lace, made in Smyrna.

Pillow lace made at Blandford during the 17th and 18th centuries.