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The History of Lace

© Lori Howe

The true origin of lace is hard to locate in both time and place. Italy and Belgium compete as the country of origin for lacemaking. As for a time frame, we can look back to the 15th century for documentation, when Charles V of Belgium decreed that lace making be taught in the schools and convents of the Belgium. The making of lace was firmly based within the realm of fashion, during this period of renaissance and enlightenment. It was designed to replace embroidery in a form that could easily convert clothing to follow different styles of fashion. Unlike embroidery, lace can be un-sewn from one article of clothing to be replaced on another, thus its value was transferable like money. Since these earlier times, many styles and techniques of lacemaking have been developed.

Lace was expensive and the desire for this luxury fabric is blamed on many a loss of fortune. In the 17th and 18th century when lace was a sign of prestige and wealth, many a farm was sold for it's purchase. The beauty of this Queen of textiles, was understood by the great ladies and fine gentleman who wore it and was among the most valued possessions listed in their wills and thus recorded and taxed.

In the first centuries of lacemaking it was one of the only means of support for many of the woman in Europe. Girls as young as five went to lace school to prepare them for a life of lacemaking. They would progress through the many steps of lacemaking, from measuring out the thread, marking and pricking the patterns to actually working on the lace itself, like the background, and then finally to the intricate designs that only the finest craftswomen were allowed to work on. Interestingly though these intricate designs were only allowed to be designed by men. Some of girl's workmanship never got beyond a particular level and then they would spend the rest of their lives doing that one skill but were able to do it quickly and expertly. Large pieces of lace were thus worked on by many hands and it could take more than a year to make one item ordered by a rich patron. Due to the exactness and fineness of the work, and poor lighting of the times, it was not uncommon for a woman to go blind.

In the 19th century when the lace machine was invented and almost anyone could then afford to own lace, the status declined with its uniqueness. For this reason many of the skills for making handmade lace were almost lost but luckily several schools in Italy and Belgium were revived before all the knowledge was lost, and due to records of their work we can still make "real lace" today. Bobbin lace and needlelace are the oldest forms of lace and many variations have been developed over the centuries. Each country seems to have their "special " lace and many laces are named for the region of origin. "Beds" is named for Bedfordshire England, Brugge Bloemwork for a town in Belgium, Maltese Lace for the island of Malta and Venetian Lace of course comes from Venice, Italy.

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