Lace is  not quite the same as regular embroidery,

so now it has it's page of it's own. 

All items on this page are from my own lace collection.

Some are only fragments, and not useful to be used in any type of utilitarian function. 

I can't bear to discard them, so much can be learned by studying them. 

machine lace

Although a sewing machine was used in the creation of some of these pieces, in many cases it was done with a hoop and someone running the hoop by hand under the needle of the machine with skilled precision that takes many years to perfect.  In my experience, it takes more skill to do good machine embroidery than it does to do it by hand.

The advantage of machine embroidery is:

 it's strength and, of course, the speed  with which it can be produced. 

In the old days of programming embroidery, each stitch was put in individually

 (manually punched on a card), unlike the contemporary method, 

where many stitch points can be programmed in one click.

hand made lace

Items on this side are made 

with hand tools.  

That is, 

tools that do not

 use gears or motors.

These pieces are machine embroidery on net background

Above are two views of the same 

19th Century item. 

It combines several techniques.

 If you look close you will see the 

flowers and leaves are done with 

bobbin lace tape. 

The rest of the work is embroidered

 in air to connect the bobbin lace.

in these pieces heavy thread was used in the bobbin. The work was done upside down.

  take a look at this collar. It incorporates net insertion with embroidered in air lace.

Most probably it was done on some sort of backing material that was removed on completion.

Now we can do embroidery

 on backings that 

dissolve easily with just a sprits of water. There are even some that are air soluble. That is, they must be kept refrigerated prior to use. On exposure to air, they disintegrate within 24 hours.

This type if very hard to find. My last supplier has discontinued the supply. 

In the "old days" it on acetate fabric, that inexpensive fabric that is often used to line jackets, trousers and such.

The work was done with cotton thread on an acetate backing, then soaked in acetone (you know, nail polish remover?) to make it disappear. 

If you ever try this, be sure to be in a well ventilated room!

these pieces can be cut apart and used to finish a corner, or just as a simple insert

to the left are samples of insertion lace

 in Abruzzo Italy making bobbin lace

Bobbin lace in Belgium 

the above are two post cards from Italy Unfortunately, I do not know the names of the photographers, as they were not on the cards

The hand made insertions of 

fillet lace and machine made

 imitation Irish lace

 3 strips of  hand made

 fillet insertion lace like the

 ones on the item above

These strips are insertion lace. The one on the right is hand made.

2 pieces of needlepoint lace

 early 20th Century machine made medallion

 medallion of needlepoint lace

or punto en aria

hand made insertion

All parts of this website are copyright 1995, 2002  by Carla Lopez 

 No part may be reproduced in any form without written permission