I love lace! I love making lace! and I love learning about the history of lace. There is bobbin lace, needle lace, crocheted lace, knit lace, plus many other less well known forms. Cities and towns in Europe became known by the style of lace they made, and that style was readily recognizable as coming from that certain town. France, Italy, Belgium, Croatia, Ireland; all became well known for their styles.
Lace making at one time was a million dollar industry, all hand made by the most skillful of artists. It was at first a cottage industry, made by women working in their homes, then selling the pieces to buyers. It evolved into an industry that had several levels of skilled workers; those at the bottom who made the simple pieces that would then pass on their work to more skilled artisans who embellished the pieces and finally the last level, those who made it into the beautiful veils, curtains, dresses, collars, gloves, etc. that only the very wealthy, nobles and kings could afford.
This lace was made by hand, often using a size of thread smaller than a human hair, and it would take months of work to finish even a small piece. One way that needle lace was done was working on a piece of stiff paper, in which the pattern had been drawn. The project would be layered first with a piece of fabric on the bottom, then the paper pattern. A frame work of heavy thread would be couched down around the edges of the piece and thru sections of the pattern to form a stablizing network, then variations of the buttonhole stitch would be used to make the lace. When the design was finished the stitches holding the lace to the paper would be cut to release the lace from the backing.
The small western town of Julian, CA, in the mountains east of San Diego, has a beautiful collection of handmade lace in it's museum, which it claims to be the biggest collection in Calif. They have many examples of different kinds of handmade lace on display, some so fine as to need a magnifying glass to see the stitches well.
Julian is an old mining town, known for its old time flavor, old buildings and it's historical interest. They have a pie festival every year and sell some of the most scrumptious apple pies! It's worth a trip to see this beautiful little town! Edey
