Renaissance lace is a type of tape lace. The name refers to the rebirth of antique Italian forms to create the patterns of this 19th century lace.[1]
The outline of the design is made of bought tape. Manufacturers produced a huge number of suitable tapes in different widths and sometimes with picots or other decoration. The lacemaker bought the tape and sewed it onto a paper with the pattern. Then she filled up the empty spaces with a needle using a variety of stitches. Finally the lace was cut from the paper.[2] The tape laces varied from well-worked versions with a variety of filling stitches to those where the tapes were simply joined with a few needle-made bars.[3]
Some regard the whole genre as being Renaissance lace, with varying forms such as Branscombe, Princess and Battenberg.[1] Others regard Renaissance Lace as one of the types.[3]
References
^ abPat Earnshaw. A Dictionary of Lace. Shire Publications. ISBN0-85263-700-4.
