The Power of a Needle and Thread From its beginning, lace has been highly valued as a treasure for its charmingly beautiful designs. Lace was and still is very highly sought after for its powerful network of threads to enhance the appearance of a fabric. Regardless of one’s wealth or status, people cannot resist the charm of the intricate needle work whether it’s used for apparel or furnishing. A basic needle stitching has been practiced since the earliest of times that a wide range of techniques have been developed to create lace. Lace is an extremely broad term that can apply to either needlework such as embroidery, drawn work, or cut work. Due to the nature of lace being created by hand, it was considered a luxury only worthy for kings
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However it’s not until 1809 when John Heathcoat developed a machine that could produce a wide net fabric that would not unravel after being cut did the art of lace making take an impact. Over the years, different inventors modified the machine and by 1870 every type of lace made by hand had a machine that could copy how to produce it. Machines made lace was preferred for the obvious reasons large volume of lace produced in a fraction of the time but also because of the texture. A fabric produced by a machine will have a smoother texture as far as stitching goes when compared to handmade lace. By the beginning of the 20th century, the practice of handmade lace was almost completely …show more content…
Lace was extremely expensive because they were handmade pieces that required a lot of time and effort, especially if using gold or silver yarn. In 1583, Philip Stubbs wrote in his Anatomie of Abuses, “I have heard of shirts that have cost some ten shillings, some twenty, some forty.” In fact, in the seventeenth century, King Charles I admitted to paying anywhere between £25 to £35 for a single shirt collar with lace detailing. Nowadays, the price of lace has gone down dramatically thanks to the lace making machines as well as the discovery of new fibers making lace a regular commodity. Fabris such as polyester, nylon, and spandex are all man made
However it’s not until 1809 when John Heathcoat developed a machine that could produce a wide net fabric that would not unravel after being cut did the art of lace making take an impact. Over the years, different inventors modified the machine and by 1870 every type of lace made by hand had a machine that could copy how to produce it. Machines made lace was preferred for the obvious reasons large volume of lace produced in a fraction of the time but also because of the texture. A fabric produced by a machine will have a smoother texture as far as stitching goes when compared to handmade lace. By the beginning of the 20th century, the practice of handmade lace was almost completely …show more content…
Lace was extremely expensive because they were handmade pieces that required a lot of time and effort, especially if using gold or silver yarn. In 1583, Philip Stubbs wrote in his Anatomie of Abuses, “I have heard of shirts that have cost some ten shillings, some twenty, some forty.” In fact, in the seventeenth century, King Charles I admitted to paying anywhere between £25 to £35 for a single shirt collar with lace detailing. Nowadays, the price of lace has gone down dramatically thanks to the lace making machines as well as the discovery of new fibers making lace a regular commodity. Fabris such as polyester, nylon, and spandex are all man made