Threads Into Lace
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Threads Into Lace Lace is an ornamental openwork fabric formed by looping, interlacing, braiding, or twisting many varieties of fine thread and ribbon. Lace is used primarily as decoration on clothing or pillows and upholstery. In the 17th century, the Englishman Thomas Fuller said that lace "doth neither hide nor heat" and that it is "nothing save a little thread, descanted on by art and industry." The distant origins of lacemaking are found in Stone Age workings of threads and fibers used to make knotted fish nets or gauze fabrics. Ornamented openwork fabrics existed in ancient Egypt and Peru, as evidenced by specimens found in burial grounds. Some simple lacemaking techniques may have developed in the Middle Ages in the Near East, but fully developed lace did not appear until the Renaissance, at which time it was a primarily European creation. The word "lace" is derived from the Old French laz, from the Latin laqueus, which means noose or snare, of which the lace-creation process is reminiscent. Despite its distant precursors, lace did not become widespread until the 16th to 17th centuries, when several diverse economic factors occurred. First, improvements in soapmaking and a generally rising standard of living led to the increased use of washable table linens, bedclothes, and undergarments. It became possible, therefore, to adorn and enrich these reusable items with washable ornamentation—lace. Second, pins became abundant and cheap, a factor necessary for the widespread production of lacework. Elaborate hem-stitching and narrow lacelike insertions are shown at the seams of linen garments and cushions in some late 15th-century Flemish and Italian paintings. There is some question about whether lacemaking originated in Flanders or Italy, but it is generally accepted that the type of lace known as "needle lace" was developed in Italy, while "bobbin lace" originated in Flanders. In making needle lace, a pattern is drawn on paper or parchment and fixed to a stiff cloth backing; then, a thread is tacked along the outlines of the pattern through both the parchment and the cloth. A fine needle and single thread are used to complete the pattern on the paper, with longer stitches to support the
loops and knots—but the needle never penetrates the cloth backing. When the pattern is finished, the tacking stitches are cut away and the paper and the cloth backing are removed, leaving only the ephemeral pattern plucked out in thread alone. Originally, needle lace was made by amateurs, particularly nuns, but in later centuries, as patterns became more complex and demanding, the work was taken up by professional lacemakers.
Fully developed lace did not appear until the Renaissance, at which time it was a primarily European creation. Bobbin lace, also called pillow lace or bone lace, is made not with a single needle and thread, but with numerous bobbins—as few as 12 or as many as 1000! A pattern is drawn on paper or parchment and attached to a firm pillow. The pattern is pricked along its outlines, and then pairs of needles a
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