Types of Lace Material
Lace material is a fine, decorative type of material, often only used on special occasions, such as weddings or christenings. Because lace was traditionally very expensive to produce, lace material was used sparingly, as trimming or edging decoration on garments. While today most laces are machine made, traditional hand-made types of laces are highly prized and very expensive.
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Needle Lace
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Needle lace is painstakingly made by needlepoint work. According to the LaceFairy.com, needle lace patterns are first drawn up on parchment or thin paper and attached to cloth. The lace work is pegged to the cloth to give a work background, and then cut free when the pattern is completed. Types of needle lace include Battenburg, Point de France, Argentan and Reticella.
Bobbin Lace
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Bobbin lace is a very complex way to make lace but produces fine laces that are independent, rather than attached to another piece of fabric. As the name suggests, bobbins are a primary part of making bobbin lace; the bobbins look more like crochet hooks with handles, rather than the machine bobbins we have today. Bobbin lace is made on a baton pillow, with the threads of different bobbins knotted and woven together with pins holding them in place on the pillow. For simple designs, sometimes as few as six bobbins make the lace pattern, but complex designs can require upwards of 50 bobbins in use at one time. These complex bobbin laces require a lot of time and effort to create and hence are usually very expensive. The most famous bobbin lace is Chantilly lace.
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Knitted Lace
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Knitted lace is the finest form of lace, producing very thin and elaborate lace material. Like regular knitting, knitted lace uses knitting needles and thread, but very thin types of both. Bridal shawls and christening gowns are two of the most common uses for knitted lace, with the famous 'wedding ring shawls' being so fine that they can pass through a wedding ring. Shetland lace is the best known example of knitted lace types.
Cutwork Lace
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Cutwork lace is made by cutting away various parts of cloth that have been embroidered with needlepoint. Typically the outline of a design is embroidered and in between the outlines is cut away, leaving holes that accentuate the pattern. Cutwork lace is also called whitework. Other types of cutwork lace include broderie anglaise and Carrickmacross.
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References
- Photo Credit sun shades in lace image by bumble bee from Fotolia.com
