The Art of Modern Lace Making   By: Butterick Publishing Company [Publisher]

The spelling in this text has been preserved as in the original. Obvious printer's errors have been corrected. You can find a list of the corrections made at the end of this e text.

THE ART OF MODERN LACE MAKING.

PRICE: FIFTY CENTS OR TWO SHILLINGS.

PUBLISHED BY The Butterick Publishing Co. (Limited). London and New York.

1891

PRINTED IN NEW YORK.

[Illustration]

INTRODUCTION.

Owing to the growing popularity of the fascinating art of lace making and the appeals of our readers to place it within their reach, we have prepared this pamphlet. In making it a perfect instructor and a reliable exponent of the favorite varieties of lace, we have spared neither time nor expense, and are most happy to offer to our patrons what a celebrated maker of Modern Lace has pronounced as "the finest book upon lace making to be found on either continent."

The illustrations, in the main, are direct reproductions from genuine, hand made modern laces, such as any lady may make who masters the instructions found upon these pages.

The beauty of these laces is beyond question, their durability all that can be desired, and their textures may be varied from an extreme delicacy to a sumptuous opposite. In introducing the art of modern lace making into the realms of our readers, we feel all of the pleasure we are sure we thus convey.

The Butterick Publishing Co., Limited.

CONTENTS.

Pages 5 to 9 Lace Making, Ancient and Modern Methods.

Pages 9 to 19 Stitches used in Modern Lace Making.

Pages 19 to 22 Fancy Braids Cords, Rings and Buttons.

Pages 22 to 96 Designs, Lace Articles, Edgings, etc., etc., in Modern Lace.

Pages 96 to 125 Darned Net Samples, Kerchiefs, Tidies, Edgings, Insertions, etc., etc., with Designs for the same and other Articles.

Lace Making

ANCIENT AND MODERN METHODS.

The art of making lace in one form or another has existed from the earliest ages. There are Scriptural references to various web like fabrics, which were of rude construction, no doubt, but whose general characteristics were identical with those productions of modern skill which have for centuries been known as lace. Homer and other ancient writers constantly mention net works of fancifully embroidered materials; gold thread work was known to the Romans; and as Egyptian robes of state are depicted upon the tombs of the earlier dynasties as being fashioned from a looped net work or crochet, it is probable that the Israelites learned the art from the Egyptians. Museums contain specimens of lace dating back to periods that to us of the present day seem mere dreams of reigns and eras, and history includes a scattered literature of lace which proves that the art must have been practised almost from the beginning.

Up to the Sixteenth Century, however, open work embroidery was the favorite decoration, and from it the tangible origin of lace seems derived. During the Renaissance period the first book of embroidery patterns and lace work appeared. The earliest volume bearing a date was printed at Cologne in 1527; and it was during the reign of Richard III. of England that the word lace was first used in the descriptions of the royal wardrobe.

At first the best known laces were those of Venice, Milan and Genoa. The Italians claim the invention of point or needle made lace; but the Venetian point is now a product of the past, and England and France supply most of the fine laces of the present time.