needle-point lace

Lace made with the needle (see Lace) having some parts of the pattern only slightly raised in relief and united by stitches called Bride picotee.

A needle-made lace, produced in Italy from fine Shetland wool for babies' shawls, scarves and other articles that require to be light, but warm. Either white or black yarn is used and the designs are formed of the simplest point lace stitches.

Irish hand-made lace, a combination of applique cut work, and embroidery on net work ground. The finer qualities also have elaborate needle stitching.

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 French term for the various stitches they employ in the making of real lace and embroideries. ———————— The three lines of decorative stitching applied to the back of a glove. ———————— A term denoting hand-made lace. There are numerous laces to which the name is given, such as Point de Croix, Point d'Alencon. The latter part of the full term relates to the town or district or some special feature of handiwork. There are at least 200 varieties of point lace. The term should only be applied to denote laces made by the needle with a single line of thread, but today many kinds of pillow and machine-made laces are sold as point.

Flemish point lace resembling Alencon though much softer, being without horsehair. The pattern is a combination of close and open stitches. The modern Point Gaze is the finest lace made and is needle-made with Reseau ground.

A common name for point lace.

A very fine needle-made lace ground, generally identified with the finest Brussels lace made wholly with the needle.

In lace making, flowers or sprigs of bobbin-work as distinguished from needle-point work. It is really flat point lace having no cords.

(Lit., needle-made lace). A patent to make this by machinery was taken out in 1781. From then until 1815, Nottingham specialised on it. It is now superseded by the bobbin net fabrics.

A machine-made silk lace to imitate the old hand-made Spanish laces. Done in all styles of design. Used for dress decoration. This is a comprehensive term including convent lace, needle-point lace, cut drawnwork, etc.

An Italian needle-point lace having heavy raised designs forming horizontal scrolls, comparatively simple brides, and usually a straight edge, trimmed only with picots. The design is padded and button-holed along one edge, like the rose point. The lace was very fashionable about 1620 to 1650

Any hand-knitted lace made with the crochet hook. Similar to needle-point lace, but coarser; they imitate such laces as Venetian and Honiton. Irish crochet is the most popular and is of linen thread. Imitations come from many Eurpoean and Asiatic countries. The various design elements are made separately and joined together by bars.

Fine, needle-point lace resembling Valenciennes made at Dieppe. It has a regular ground of small mesh squares alternating with open squares upon which the pattern is applied in close stitch.

Spanish needle-point lace, similar to the Venise.

A needle-point lace made in Florence in the 16th century.

Brazilian needle-point lace having very fine rosettes like spider webs for designs.

A needle-point lace made in Italy during the 17th century. It resembled, in the sprigs, the bodies of caterpillars in motion.

Italian needle-point lace having trailing designs on coral style.

Lace with raised patterns in cresent styles. They are raised cordonnets enclosing the flat needle-point stitches. They add beauty and give strength.