Lace talk about different laces

Lace begin …

As a 30DD/E, years ago I never use to like lace, the types of lingerie for that size use to be mainly be white, black or beige and although I still haven’t a love for white lace there is something undoubtedly sexy about black lace. Add it with some colour and you get a whole lotta retro vibe going on.

Brief bit of background

Bobbin lace was a popular lace and it involved the craft of braiding cords onto a bobbin. Chantilly lace is a bobbin lace which was named after the city of Chantilly, but is also widely crafted in other cities throughout France. This is usually more refined and uses a finer mesh.

During the 1920s the silhouette and lighter styles of women dresses had a dramatic effect on the style of lingerie women wanted. Lace was used to be strikingly entrancing to women to free them from the corset, and allow then to have lighter lingerie to embrace the new silhouette that was in fashion.

Then fast forward another twenty years and women took on “men’s” jobs during the war and they still needed lighter lingerie to work comfortably. Manufacturers then started creating lingerie using lighter and softer fabrics, lace being one of them. Nowadays, lace on lingerie is often referred to as “French Lace.” This, however, does not necessarily have ties with either its production process or country of heritage.

Another important lace was Leavers lace, so called after a gentleman called John Leaver who created a machine that speeded up the manufacturing of lace.

UK Lace

The last remaining manufacturer left in England is Cluny lace, in Ilkeston. It’s a family run business spanning back nine generations - in order to compete with the fast whirl of over seas production they sold all their modern making lace machines and make lace entirely on a century old leavers machine.

Different types of lace

Galloon lace is an umbrella term for lace and lots fall into this description. The lace has curved or rounded edges on both edges and a design in the middle. It comes in many different widths and can be stretch or non stretch.

ALLOVER

This lace has an embroidered design that is over a mesh background (it can be known as embroidered net). Usually the design is floral.

APPLIQUE

This type of lace comes as placements where by you sew around the edges, so they can be applied anywhere.

BRODERIE ANGLAISE

This is white and has a solid cotton base, and has eyelets in to make up it’s pattern.

CHANTILLY

This lace is usually black, made from silk components in this lace and has frayed edges. Creating an eyelash effect.

CROCHET

This lace comes from Ireland and was designed to look like Venetian lace

EDGE

This is usually a narrow lace which is seen to the edges of lingerie ie the hem, legs, top of cups etc it can either come with a straight edge or a scalloped edge, depending how scalloped the edge is it can be known as cut-out-lace.

RIBBON SLOT

This lace has holes in it that are equally spaced to allow ribbon to be threaded through it.

VENETIAN

This lace has a solid background, so it’s not on mesh or net.