My friend Nancy is in need of your help. She has oodles of amazing lace (plus a few embroidered pieces) from her mother's collected. Many have provenance, and where we have a little information we included that with the photos. Above each piece there is a number, then what we know and then maybe some detail shots following, below the main photo. If you have any thoughts, especially about the lace techniques used, please leave us comments. Tell us what piece you are talking about by noting the number. Any and all help is greatly appreciated! I might be adding new pieces as Nan sorts through them. Once we can gather a little more information, we hope to publish an article or two about these amazing pieces! Meow...
6/15/2014: I updated the page with some comments from friends Cara and Elisa. Your comments are most welcome, so please leave them form us!
6/15/2014: I updated the page with some comments from friends Cara and Elisa. Your comments are most welcome, so please leave them form us!
Nan's kitty, Piggy, enjoying some silk lace...
One
Could this piece be a diminutive form of broomstick lace? Take a look at the detail shot below.
From Elisa: probably needle lace
Two
We believe this is tatted.
Three
This is a bed bonnet made and worn by Nan's great grandmother (you can see a handkerchief she made a little further down the list.) More than one technique might be represented here...
Four
Filet crochet?
From Elisa: looks like it could be a bobbin lace. I've seen a knotted ground like that in
some torchon.
Five
This piece is very fine cotton and has lace work and embroidery, with sections pieced together.
From Elisa: Torchon bobbin lace
From Cara: Number
5 (photos 11-14) is torchon lace. Inside the diamonds are spider motifs
alternated with rose point. There is a linen (or cloth) stitch
background.
From Elisa: Torchon bobbin lace
Six
From Elisa: probably needle lace of some sort; hem is decidedly drawn work (needlework)
Seven
The last detail shot shows the back side of the work.
From Elisa: possibly machine-lace applique. Hard to tell, but thread connections look wrong
for needle lace.
Eight
From Elisa: drawn work, probably
Nine
From Elisa: drawn work, probably
Ten
From Cara: Number
10 (photos 24-25) is torchon lace. The fan motif that runs along the outside
edge has a gimp incorporated in it.
From Elisa: Torchon, with gimp
Eleven
From Elisa: Drawn work/needle weaving--a very nice piece
Twelve
From Cara: Number 12 (photos 29-30) might
be a bobbin lace technique, but I'm not positive, it could be needle lace.
From Elisa: Bedforshire-Maltese bobbin lace, probably
Thirteen
This wonderful piece was made by Nan's great grandmother(see item three and the note with the final detail shot.)
From Cara: Number
13 might be bobbin lace.
From Elisa: Can't tell; given note, hand hemstitching and reuse of machine lace?
Fourteen
From Elisa: "Battenburg" or "princess" lace: machine tapes with hand-embroidered connections
Fifteen
From Cara: Number
15 (photos 37-38) looks like bobbin lace with a gimp. The gathered corners
sometimes indicate an older piece, many modern lacemakers make mitered
corners.
From Elisa: can't tell
Sixteen
From Elisa: heirloom sewing (applique of machine-lace medallions and tape)
Seventeen
From Elisa: machine tape, possibly needle-lace fills; hard to tell
Eighteen
From Elisa: Battenburg/princess: machine tape, needle-lace connections
Nineteen
From Elisa: can't tell (I'm guessing machine, but I would have to get a real close look at
how the plaits on the outside connect to the arches.)
Twenty
From Elisa: can't tell (I'm guessing machine, but I would have to get a real close look at
how the plaits on the outside connect to the arches.)
Twenty-One
From Cara: Number
21 (photos 50-51) also looks like bobbin lace (torchon). It has a nice sewing
edge, linen (or cloth) stitch diamonds and the flowers look to be made of leaf
shaped tallies connected with plaits.
From Elisa: probably bobbin lace (Bedfordshire-type)
Twenty-Two
From Elisa: "Brussels lace" (= tape is machine, flowers are machine, net is (hand) bobbin
lace, bars/connectors are (hand) needle lace)
Twenty-Three
This amazing piece appears to be cut-work on very finely woven wild silk. It is huge (like the size of a king bed) and the details are wonderful..The second and final detail shots show the back side of the work.
From Elisa: drawn work and Teneriffe needle lace
Twenty-Four
So not lace, but this is silk embroidery and the colors are amazing. From Asian? Most likely. If you have an opinion please share it! Detail shots 4 and 5 show the back of the piece.
From Elisa: Chinese silk embroidery; mostly split stitch/couching, French knots; "reads"
like a wedding piece to me (paired male/female birds), despite plum blossoms
(longevity and thus traditional for birthdays)
Twenty-Five
From Elisa: Battenburg/princess
Twenty-Six
From Elisa: definitely machine lace
Twenty-Seven
This piece is crochet. There are two like this one, one on a linen round and one on a fine cotton round.
Twenty-Eight
From Elisa: bobbin lace
Twenty-Nine
From Elisa: ?Crochet?
Thirty
From Elisa: definitely hairpin lace (a crochet technique)
Thirty-One
From Cara: Number
31 (photo 85) looks like bobbin lace.
From Elisa:
84 crochet?
85 bobbin lace
86 probably machine lace
Thirty-Two
I believe this is crochet!
From Elisa: crochet
Thirty-Three
From Elisa: crochet or possibly machine lace
Thirty-Four
From Cara: Number
34 (photo 91) looks like a bobbin lace technique, but the combination of motifs
is not like any I have seen before. It also looks like it might be two pieces
joined? the upper piece looks symmetrical with a sewing edge on both sides and
then another piece with a single sewing edge attached below? Difficult to tell
from the photo.
From Elisa: can't tell; probably bobbin lace
Thirty-Five
From Elisa: probably machine lace
Thirty-Six
Crochet?
From Elisa: crochet or machine lace
Thirty-Seven
This piece is also embroidery, on metallic mesh (gold?) It is very hard to photograph, but it is a long length of mesh, possibly a veil. From the middle or far east? It has real weight to it, so certainly real metal.
From Elisa: darning/chain stitch, on machine net; would need to look at ends of threads to
tell whether it's hand embroidery.
Thirty-Eight
From Elisa: buttonhole stitch and variants (needle lace),probably machine tape
Thirty-Nine
This is part of a set, including several of each version, for two arm chairs?
From Elisa: Bedfordshire-type bobbin lace
Forty
Filet crochet, I believe. This is part of a larger set to protect some chairs
From Elisa: definitely filet crochet
Forty-One
Another gorgeous collar...
Partially tatted, with other techniques also?
From Elisa: definitely machine lace
Forty-Two
From Cara: Number
42 (photo 109-110) looks like torchon lace worked with a multi stranded thread?
Four legged spider motifs, some rose point ground and whole stitch scallops on
the edge.
From Elisa: torchon bobbin lace
Forty-Three
This piece is really amazing. It is a long length, and maybe machine made??? but extremely fine and special. Ideas welcome!
From Elisa: (I'm guessing machine because it would be awful to have to do all those tallies
in bobbin lace)
Forty-Four
Another "not lace" but this is a long length of "needle point" or counted thread work, with several miters. Just lovely...
From Elisa: Cross stitch, possibly a from a Berlin work (usually needlepoint) chart
Forty-Five
This piece might be woven lace with some thread work after the weaving. It is pieced together.
From Elisa: darning (and doves-eye stitch) on knotted net.
Forty-Six
Be still my heart, this is actually knit! It is a loop, maybe once on the bottom of a petticoat?
From Elisa: (don't know. Looks knitted. machine?)
Forty-Seven
Another collar, this one tatted (I believe) on linen.
From Elisa: Tatting
Forty-Eight
This is a spectacular length of lace, possible machine made??? But very fine and wonderful. Ideas welcome...
Forty-Nine
Assortment of tatted trim...
Fifty
This is a long length of trim, cotton, and appears to be hand made. Please tell us more!
From Elisa: can't tell. bobbin or machine.
Fifty-One
This is a large piece of beautifully worked and joined medallions.
From Elisa: Machine
Fifty-Two
Two large lengths of trim, crochet? I think so. Looks hand made to us!
From Elisa: crochet or machine
Fifty-Three
A large length of trim, tatted???
From Elisa: crochet or machine, probably the latter
Fifty-Four
This is lace work on a fine mesh ground. The mesh looks machine made, but the lace work looks handmade. Each element varies from the next. Check this out!
From Elisa:machine
\
Fifty-Five
Yet another amazing piece, this with some wear. Remarkable few of these pieces has any damage. This is very delicate and fine.
From Elisa: Limerick lace (tambour embroidery on machine net) or machine version thereof
Fifty-Six
This looks like more handwork on machine made mesh, very fine...
From Elisa: machine version of net-embroidery lace
Fifty-Seven
This piece is another metallic mesh, quite heavy. It looks like it could be hand made? Gold? Can you believe?
From Elisa: machine net
Thank you so much for getting to the bottom of the long list, and please take a few minutes to leave us comments. We are open to all ideas and as we get more information I will update the page to reflect that. Nan thinks there might be even more lace coming, so I will add to the collection as she finds it and we photograph it. Knit on! Lace, of course...
Always willing to be over-ruled, but I think that 6-9 look like they might be Hardanger Embroidery and that 11 id Pulled or Drawn Thread Embroidery. Even if I am wrong those are some amazing examples of lace work!
ReplyDelete4 and 45 Hand-knotted and darned filet lace (Italian); 20 and 39 handmade Cluny bobbin lace; 31 middle piece is Bedfordshire bobbin lace; 31 bottom piece is Irish Clones crocheted lace; 34 classic Torchon bobbin lace; 37 tambour - middle eastern? ; 41 and 53 Schiffli machine lace; 46 looks like hand knitted polish lace; 51 Leavers Mill machine lace to look like Cluny; 6,8, and 9 hand-drawn needle lace, possibly Canary Islands or Saba (definitely NOT Hardanger)
ReplyDeleteRather than photographing lace, one way to get a good, high-resolution picture is by laying it facedown on a scanner and scanning with the lid open (or beneath a piece of colored paper) so that it will have a dark background. Depending on the resolution, you can enlarge these images to the thread level.
ReplyDeleteHad fun looking again and testing myself. Here are my suggestions:1- armenian knotted lace, 2 - tatting, 4- hand-knotted filet lace, 5 -Belgian torchon, 6-9 all drawn thread work, most likely Canary Islands, 26 - Schiffli machine-made, 28 - Cluny bobbin 31 - handmade Irish crochet, machine made Nottingham in Cluny style and Leavers Mill machine made, 39 Cluny bobbin, 45 - Italian (Sardinian) hand-knotted filet, 51 - Leavers Mill machine-made, 53 Shiffli machine-made
ReplyDeleteEleven looks like Saba Lace to me. I am not at all a lace expert, but I live on the island of Saba and have recently begun joining the Saba Lace ladies (along with my 7-year-old daughter) and learning to do lace. I'm not familiar with the name that is on the note (I only moved here a few years ago; not a local), but I the technique looks similar to here. Hope that helps a bit.
ReplyDelete