What is Lace Fabric?
Lace is a delicate, decorative fabric known for its intricate patterns and open-weave design. This type of fabric involves threads that are knotted, looped, braided, twisted or stitched to make open-work, patterned fabrics that, traditionally, were handmade from linen, cotton and silk. Later, man-made fibres were used including viscose, polyester and polyamide. These pieces were used as trims for clothing, such as collars, cuffs, edges on hems or for household uses such as pillowcases and tablecloths. Lace fabric looks light and airy. Lace is often used in clothing, home décor, and accessories. Machine-made lace was first introduced in 1589 by William Lee of Nottinghamshire on the stocking frame, which led to the development of John Heathcote’s bobbin machine in 1808. Heathcote’s machine led to the production of bobbinet, and it was the forerunner of modern, lace-making machinery. In 1813, John Leavers developed the first true lace-making machine, and by 1837, the machine incorporated the punch card system, similar to a jacquard loom.
Let’s explore different types of lace fabric and its properties, how it’s made, and its common uses.
Properties of Lace Fabric
Lace fabric is breathable, sheer and may require a lining. It has luxurious, sexy, and romantic characteristics. Lace is a hollow fabric made by jacquard or embroidery, which has a strong three-dimensional effect. Common properties of lace fabric are given below.
- Lightweight: Feels soft and easy to wear.
- Sheer and Decorative: Has open designs that look attractive.
- Flexible: Can be shaped for garments or decorations.
- Airy: Allows air to pass through easily.
- Delicate: It is often fragile, needs careful handling and washing.
- Material: Made from cotton, silk, or synthetic fibers
Lace Fabric Types and Their Manufacturing Process
Lace can be made by hand (using needles or bobbins) or by machine. Hand-made lace takes more time and skill. Machine-made lace is produced by automated machines that quickly create patterns. The process involves:
- Designing the lace pattern.
- Weaving threads into intricate designs.
- Cutting and finishing the edges for a clean look.
A. Hand Made Lace
There are a variety of handmade laces, including bobbin, crochet, darned, needle, tatting and macramé.
1. Bobbin Or Pillow Lace:
Bobbin or pillow lace is handmade lace made by twisting and crossing threads wound on bobbins. The firm pillow, traditionally stuffed with straw, can be round or shaped as a bolster. The design is hole-punched onto paper which is pinned onto the pillow. A number of threaded bobbins are interlaced by twisting and plaiting around a pin that has been placed in the design paper.
There are a number of traditional styles of lace.
a) Belgium or Flemish Lace: Brussels lace, also known as Duchesse lace, uses flax to produce motifs that are held by brides, réseau or background which is hexagonal. Mechlin lace originated from Mechelin and is one of the best known Flemish laces. It has scrolled, floral designs with a background hexagonal mesh and outlined with a coarse thread.
b) English Lace: English lace primarily refers to traditional lace made in England, often characterized by bobbin lace techniques. English Lace – was very much a cottage industry that employed men, women and children. English lace are delicate, handmade, and widely used for collars, veils, and decorative textiles. English lace includes Bedfordshire (plaited leaves, durable), Buckinghamshire/Bucks Point (fine hexagonal net), Honiton lace (from Devon) has floral motifs that are made separately and then joined together with brides, Devon Trolly (outlined with thick thread), and Yorkshire/Filet (knotted net designs).
c) French Lace: French Lace is luxurious lace fabrics made in France, often featuring floral patterns and crafted from silk, cotton, viscose, or rayon. It is known for its elegance, intricate designs, and use in haute couture, bridal wear, and evening gowns. Notable types include Chantilly, Cluny, Lille, Valenciennes, Alençon, and Argentan lace. Chantilly lace has elegant floral patterns outlined in smooth, shiny thick threads on a fine ground (back). Cluny lace has an open, coarse mesh that is relatively heavy and strong. It features a paddle wheel and/or bat wing design. Lille is a fine lace that uses square or hexagonal nets with a flat thread outlining the design. Occasionally, the pattern has dots. Valenciennes has two types of mesh: diamond and round. The flat lace uses the same linen thread to produce the mesh and the floral designs.
d) Maltese Lace: Maltese Lace from Malta is easily identified by the Maltese cross that adorns it and is often made out of silk. This lace carries a rich heritage, reflecting Malta’s artistic and historical identity.
2. Crochet Lace:
It is a delicate lace made using a crochet hook to create intricate patterns with finer threads. Crochet, meaning hook in French, is the art of making lace using a hook to form a series of interlinking loops of yarn or thread. Early references to crochet date back to the late 1790s, and may have come to Europe from Arabia, South America or China; its true origin remains a mystery. It is thought that crochet developed from tambouring, a form of needlework that used fine, hooked needles and thread to produce a chain pattern on the surface of the background fabric, which was stretched taut on a frame. The hook pulled a thread through from underneath to the top of the fabric and passed it through a loop already on the hook to form another chain, thus creating a pattern on the fabric’s surface. This method evolved into crochet when it was realized that the chains could be free-standing and that they could produce fabric of their own without the support of the background fabric. It became popular in Europe in the nineteenth century, mainly due to Mademoiselle Reigo de la Branchardere’s influence. She used bobbin and needle lace designs to convert fabrics into crochet patterns. She is thought to be the innovator of Irish crochet, which was introduced to Ireland as a form of famine relief as people used it to raise funds for impoverished Irish workers from 1845 to 1849.
Hooks: These can be made from a number of materials, but the most basic and cheap form is a bent sewing needle inserted into a cork; this makeshift tool was used by the Irish lace workers. The more wealthy people owned silver, brass, steel, bamboo, ivory or bone hooks. Today, plastic hooks are used as well. The size ranges from 0.4mm to 19mm, and the size used depends upon the thickness and weight of the yarn.
Technique: The fabric is produced by working in rows or a circular direction. Commencing with a slip knot loop, the hook continues to pull the working yarn through the loop on the hook to make a long chain that is either joined to form the circle or left to produce rows. Into this initial chain, the hook works a variety of stitches, including following: These stitch variations offer shape, depth and texture to the fabric.
3. Filet Or Darned Lace:
Filet lace, also known as darned lace, is a needlework technique involving embroidery on a knotted net ground. The lace is created by darning or weaving thread over square or diamond-shaped mesh nets, often made by hand or machine.
This is of Italian origin which is known as Opus Filatorium and Araneum. Opus Filatorium is known as point conte or filet brode, which is a regular design produced on a linen fabric. The mesh can be handmade by knotting or created with a fabric that has had a number of threads pulled out to create the net. The regular pattern or design is then embroidered or darned into the net using a needle and thread. Another form of this lace is Reticella or Point Couppe, which has a pulled thread net and the geometric design is stitched in. This type of lace later became a needle lace constructed in the mesh from laid threads.
Araneum has a number of names: Spider, Guipure Art, Cluny Guipure and Antique Lace; these are produced in a similar fashion to Opus Filatorium but the background mesh is irregular.
4. Needle Lace:
As the name suggests, it is made entirely by using a needle and thread and probably originated in Armenia. The lace pattern is drawn on paper and then overlaid by threads that are held in place with a buttonhole and a blanket stitch. Common motifs include birds, flowers and scrolls. The main varieties of needlepoint are Alençon, Milan, Reticella, Rose Point and Venetian – all of which have an Italian origin.
- Alençon is a delicate but durable lace that has a solid design outlined with a cord of a sheer, hexagonal net.
- Milan lace is a tape-type lace with a picot (loop) edge.
- Rose Point lace originated in Venice and features delicate flowers and scrolls with a cord outline.
- Venetian lace features floral designs joined at irregular intervals by looped brides.
5. Tatting:
This is a form of lace that uses a shuttle to knot the thread to make intricate motifs that are usually geometric. Traditionally, the shuttles were made from ivory or metal with a hook or point at one end to help with the lace construction. Commonly used for edgings, collars, doilies, handkerchiefs, and jewelry, tatting remains a popular decorative lace-making craft worldwide.
6. Macramé:
The art of knotting yarns is an ancient craft that probably dates back thousands of years and originated in China, where it was used for ceremonial costumes, silk paintings, lanterns and wall decorations. It migrated into Europe via the Arabs, and was a traditional craft used by sailors who combined it with their own knot-tying methods to make products such as lanyards, rope ladders, hats and belts, which they sold at ports. The texture and appearance of the products is very different from other forms of lace because much heavier yarns are used, such as twine and hemp. As a result of the heavier yarns chunky, square knots are common.
B. Machine Made Lace
There are a number of machine-made laces on the market that are either knitted or woven. They are categorized into four classes:
1. Consists of stocking frame, warp frame and Raschel machine.
a) Stocking Lace: Stocking lace are used on or designed for stockings—close-fitting leg garments typically covering from foot to thigh.
This dates back to 1589, when William Lee of Calverton, Nottinghamshire invented a machine with a horizontal line of needles to knit stockings. Developments of this machine led to the Derby Rib machine (invented by Jedediah Strut), which enabled the use of a barbed needle to twist the loop to produce a rib fabric. By the 1760s, the machine had gone through a variety of adaptations that allowed the stocking frame machine to transfer stitches from one needle to another to create lace. Stockings with lace details are popular in fashion and lingerie for their aesthetic appeal.
b) Warp Frame: This came into existence in the 1770s with vertical warp threads. Each thread was inserted into an individual needle that zigzagged to make interconnected loops. Today, this method is used for making bags that hold fruits and vegetables.
c) Raschel Lace: Raschel lace is a type of machine-made lace produced on a Raschel knitting machine. A German, Wilhelm Barfuss, invented the Raschel machine in 1859. It uses the principles of the warp frame and an adapted jacquard mechanism to produce lace at a much faster speed than other machines. With improved technology, the Jacquardtronic Raschel machines, which are controlled by computers, have moved from fifty-six bars to seventy-eight bars. The Textronic and Fascination machines produce 3D laces with raised surfaces similar to tulle. As the technology advances, the fabrics produced more closely mimic the fine detail of Leavers lace, but the Raschel machines produce fabric much more cheaply due to their production speed and the ease with which pattern changes can be made.
2. Consists of the Bobbinet, Leavers and Pusher machines.
a) Bobbinet Lace: This machine was invented by John Heathcoat in 1809 to speed up the process of making Midland lace. The machine is made up of flat bobbins in carriages that pass through and round the warp yarns. The lace tends to have a heavy texture and an angular appearance. The factory moved from Loughborough to Tiverton, Devon in 1820, and it is one of the few UK textile industries that exist today. It produces a range of performance knitted and woven structures. The lace is used for curtains, bridal wear, lingerie, wigs, technical fabrics such as parachute skirts, radar reflective fabrics for the military, textile switches and light diffusion fabrics for the film and theatre industries. A lace curtain machine was developed by John Livesey in 1846. It was based upon the bobbinet machine, but production of this type of lace stopped in the 1980s.
b) Leavers Lace: The Leavers lace machine, named after John Lever (the a was added later to make the name sound more French) is a complex machine. It is set up with warp yarns and a number of thin bobbins that produce an intricate, patterned fabric that can measure up to nine metres in width. Each bobbin contains 270 metres of yarn; there are approximately twenty bobbins in every 25mm stretch, and they move up and down the machine on individual carriages to preselected warp yarns. The bobbin swings around the warp to wrap the yarn around in a Z twist movement, and then it moves onto the next warp. By 1841, with the aid of the jacquard mechanism, the lace produced included the pattern, net and outline as one piece – this makes it a very versatile machine. The fabrics are fairly expensive because it is a costly production, especially in the amount of time it takes to set up the machines.
c) Nottingham Lace: This flat lace uses large patterns. As the name suggests, it is made in Nottingham, England and since 1814 was produced on Leavers machines, which were powered, originally, by teams of men, later by steam and then electricity. By 1865, there were 130 lace factories in Nottingham, and at the turn of the twentieth century, Nottingham dominated the machine lace industry of Britain. The lace, made from unfinished silk or cotton, were large webs measuring up to 420 inches wide and 50 yards long. It required finishing processes; the removal of the black lead that was used on the machines, bleaching, dyeing and starching before it was ready for sale. These finishing processes, except dyeing, were completed by women and children in appalling conditions such as high temperatures so spreading diseases, lack of light leading to poor eyesight, poor ventilation and inadequate toilet and washing facilities. Over a period of time, working conditions improved, mainly due to the help of Thomas Adams, a Quaker, although it was well into the twentieth century before legislation really controlled conditions in the work place. Today, there is only one British company making Nottingham lace, and it is not based in Nottingham.
Nottingham lace has adorned royal women’s clothing. Indeed, black lace became very popular when it was worn by Queen Victoria for her mourning attire after Prince Albert passed away. It also adorned the wedding dresses of Princess Diana in 1982 and Kate Middleton in 2011.
d) Pusher Lace: Another variation on the Bobbinet machine is the Pusher machine, which was invented by Samuel Clark and James Mart in 1812. It took its name from the rods that pushed the carriage through the machine. By 1841, the jacquard mechanism could be used to produce a lace similar to Chantilly, but it could only complete the pattern and net whilst the outline was hand-stitched or finished later by an embroidery machine. This machine was used in Nottingham until the early twentieth century, but it continues to be used in France today.
3. Consists of hand-embroidery and Schiffli machines.
a) Hand-Embroidery Machine Lace: This machine was invented by a Frenchman, Joshua Heilman, in 1828. It uses pincers on either side of the fabric, needles with points on both ends, and single lengths of yarn. The placement of the needles is determined by a pantograph, and the pincers grab the needles to push them through the fabric. This produced patterns which were an exact copy of hand embroidery but on machine made net or nowadays, it is on a dissolvable fabric such as Avalon..
b) Schiffli Embroidery Machine: This machine, invented by a Swiss named Isaac Groebli in 1865, worked on the principal of the sewing machine. A threaded needle was used on the face of a chemically treated net fabric, and the shuttle was positioned underneath. The design was stitched using a lock stitch, and a pantograph determined the placement of the threads that formed the embroidered pattern. Once the lace design was created, the base net fabric would disintegrate, leaving behind the lace. Today, the lace can be produced on dissolvable fabrics such as Avalon because such fabrics are water-soluble and far more environmentally friendly than the chemicals used on the net in the past. Schiffli lace is the most common lace used today.
4. Fourth Class:
a) Barman Lace: Barmen lace refers to lace originating from the Barmen region in Germany, a type of bobbin lace known for its fine and intricate patterns. The Barman machine was developed in Germany in the 1890s. It produces tapes and braids about 20cm wide that can be pieced together with openwork. It replicates Torchon and other simpler, handmade laces because it has a limited ability to make complex patterns of varying widths within the design.
Uses of Lace Fabric
Lace is popular in wedding dresses and evening gowns. It is used for curtains, tablecloths, and bed covers. It adds beauty to lingerie and accessories. Lace is also used in craft and decoration for a vintage or elegant look.
At a glance, the common uses of lace fabric.
1. Clothing & Fashion
- Bridal Wear: Wedding dresses, veils, and gowns often feature delicate lace.
- Lingerie: Soft lace is used in bras, panties, and nightgowns for a feminine touch.
- Evening Wear: Dresses, blouses, and skirts use lace for a sophisticated look.
- Sleeves & Trims: Lace accents enhance sleeves, collars, and hems.
2. Home Furnishing
- Curtains & Drapes: Sheer lace adds a light, airy feel to windows.
- Table Linens: Lace tablecloths and runners create a vintage or romantic look.
- Pillow Covers & Bedspreads: Lace details add texture and elegance to bedding.
3. Accessories
- Scarves & Shawls: Lightweight lace wraps are perfect for formal occasions.
- Gloves & Fans: Vintage-style lace gloves and hand fans add a classic touch.
- Hair Accessories: Lace headbands, veils, and clips are popular for weddings.
4. Crafts & Embellishments
- Appliqués: Lace pieces are sewn onto fabrics for decoration.
- Jewelry: Some designers use lace in resin jewelry for a unique look.
- DIY Projects: Lace is used in scrapbooking, card-making, and gift wrapping.
Conclusion
Lace is a timeless fabric that adds beauty, charm, and sophistication to garments and decorations. Whether delicate or bold, it remains a favorite in fashion and design.
