Lace types

Lace types

Aemilia Ars needlepoint lace (It. Punto in Aria di Bologna) is linked to the establishment in 1898 of the Aemilia Ars Society, in Bologna, Italy. The Foundation propagated the revival of the old crafts of the Emilia region, including that of embroidery and lace

Alençon lace is a form of needlepoint lace that originates from the town of Alençon, Normandy, France, where from the sixteenth century an industry had developed of cutwork and other forms of embroidery. By the end of the seventeenth century it was selected as a centre for the production of Point de France, and by the early eighteenth century a distinctive form of lace had developed, now known as Alençon lace.  

In the eighteenth century, Argentan was a form of needlepoint lace that was produced in Normandy. It is named after the local town of Argentan, which lies close to Alençon, another lace producing centre. Argentan lace is characterised by its very fine work, with sometimes up to ten buttonhole stitches per mesh.

Battenburg tape lace, also (more correctly) named Battenberg tape lace, is named after the German town of Battenberg. It is one of the simplest forms of Renaissance lace, itself a form of tape lace. Battenburg tape lace is a coarser form of Brussels tape lace and uses tapes that are about 8 mm in width. The tape is usually dense and straight sided.

Bedfordshire lace, or simply Beds lace, and also known as Bedfordshire Maltese lace, was based on local lace forms traditionally produced in the English Midlands and on the Maltese lace that was developed in the early nineteenth century and on show at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. Maltese lace, and Bedfordshire lace, are forms of guipure, bobbin lace. The Maltese lace in particular gave the Bedfordshire lace its rounded leave patterns.

Blonde lace (also written as blond lace) is a form of bobbin lace made of silk and produced in strips of some ten cm wide. It was particularly popular in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century and principally made in France. The name refers to the natural colour of the silk thread, but much of the blonde lace was made in black.

Brussels lace is the name given to various forms of lace produced over the centuries in and around Brussels. More specifically, it is applied to various forms of non-continuous bobbin lace: the bobbin-lace patterns are made separately from the net (réseau).

Brussels needlepoint lace is a form of needlepoint lace with a slight cordonnet with spaced buttonhole stitches. It was particularly popular in the eigheenth and early nineteenth centuries. The motifs were often applied on a droschel ground, replaced in the nineteenth century by three-twist Brussels net.

Brussels tape lace is a simple form of Renaissance lace, itself a form of tape lace, and requires the least amount of filling in the gaps between the tape(s).

Carrickmacross lace is a form of appliqué net lace developed after the invention of bobbinet in the early nineteenth century. The design was drawn onto a backing cloth, which was tacked to an overlay of the bobbinet and a fine muslin (cambric). A couched outlining thread was used to attach the muslin to the bobbinet following the pattern, after which the excess material and backing cloth were cut away.

Cluny lace is a nineteenth century form of guipure, bobbin lace. It was worked as a continuous piece. It characteristically has geometric patterns, with radiating, pointed wheat ears. It is said to derive its name from designs that were seen and copied from the Musée de Cluny in Paris. It was made in France, but also in England.

Coggeshall is a town in Essex (England) noted for its tambour embroidery on net, called Coggeshall lace or Coggeshall tambour lace, and sometimes Coggeshall embroidery. The industry was started around 1812, when a French (or possibly Walloon) refugee called M. Draygo (also written Drago) and his two daughters came to Coggeshall.

Dickel lace is a form of tape lace designed in the early twentieth century by the German lace maker, Franziska Dichtl. It would  appear that this type is based on eighteenth century forms of tape lace, but re-styled for contemporary tastes.

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