Most people who are newly associated with the embroidery profession usually do not think about lace. Lace is the oldest form of fashion and is pretty popular where women's and children's fashion is concerned. Before we can speak about the different types of designs that are available, we will first brief you on the design process.
Designs on lace work go through a different process than normal embroidery, which are stitched on. The work of lace embroidery is mostly done on machine known as Schiffli machines. The machine works by holding the fabric in place while the stitches are placed on the cloth. When the stitches are placed, it is held together by water or by using heat. The heat or water is used to dissolve the traces of the fabric and what you have is interwoven thread left on the fabric.
The drawback of using this is that the process of stitching and designing is a very time consuming process. Another means of making the same process economical and saves less time involves weaving the thread into a net. What is left behind is a beautiful design on nets. These net embroidery designs are usually used as table cloths, tea mats and plate mats. Today they are used in most houses when distinguished guests come over. These show-pieces serve two purposes: one is to protect the furniture from stains, and the other is to make it look grand.
There are many types of lace design that are carried out by our fore-fathers and are still in great demand today. We will be talking about some of them below.
Duchess Lace
These are mainly designed on cushions. The word cushion comes from a Flemish word "kussen". The design is made by using twenty-two bobbins, out of which two of them act as conductors. The number of bobbins that are used depends on the complexities of the design. That means the more complicated the design, the more bobbins will be used. One of the toughest designs to make, requiring much skill, is the Binche "Point de Fee". The design is so hard that it would take a person approximately three days to make the curves.
The Rosepoint Lace
This is considered to be one of the most delicate handwork to be made by hand. In order for the design to be accomplished, it has to be designed on paper. Thereafter, the design is reinforced with tissue paper on which the design is realized. Next, the interior of the design is filled with finer thread to add relief work.
Princess Lace
This is commonly used in weddings, babies christening and other ceremonial occasions. In the good old days, these complicated designs were handmade. Today however, the net is made by machines and the design is applied to the net by hand.
