Needle Lace

1. What kind of lace do I make?

I make what is best described as modernized Western European needle lace or couched cordonnet. It is 'true lace', meaning it's not made by working into a preexisting fabric or thread foundation/ground material*.

It is made with a base of a cordonnet- thread/s used to make an outline. The cordonnet is couched to a temporary backing. Couching is a stitch that works from the back of the backing, goes over the cordonnet (not through it!) that allows the lace to be stabilized during the making process but is fully removable from the backing once finished. Once couched, A needle is used to make knots, mostly buttonhole stitches, that fill in the gaps of the cordonnet and go over the cordonnet to seal everything in.

I am partial to the geometric designs of Reticella- a cutwork lace- but don't use true Reticella techniques for my full pieces. Most of the techniques I use are adapted and modernized from Reticella, Punto in Aria, Kenmare lace, and general modern buttonhole needle lace techniques.

While I started learning lace-making a little while back, I am still a beginner. Lace is time intensive so I have made 4 pieces total. I still have a lot to learn but am loving it!

*not that laces that are made with fabric or thread foundations are not real lace, just not classified as 'true lace'. While I don't love the term, I haven't heard another one that communicates the same idea. The term needlepoint lace is also sometimes used to refer to 'true lace' but only ones made with a needle. It is also easily confused with the much more popular canvas work- Needlepoint embroidery, so I choose not to use this term for clarity's sake.

2. Tutorials:

I started with Michael Dennis's Needle Lace Made Easy Tutorials. I have a hard time following written instructions so these videos were perfect for me.

Lynxlace has a ton of information on a wide variety of types of lace. The website is from 2011 and is only avable through way back machine now, so it doesn't have the most accessible design and some of the diagrams are a bit hard to follow, but the amount of info here makes up for it.

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF NEEDLEWORK By Thérèse de Dillmont was published in 1884 but has a lot of info and good diagrams.

LACEIOLI is a lace-making forum. While it is now only accessible through way back machine, there is still a lot of helpful info to get yourself oriented. It seems that they were in the process of moving forum hosting platforms so try laceioli.org too.

RSN Stitch Bank is an AMAZING guide on various stitches for several types of Needlework. Highly recommend.

3. Patterns:

Needle-made laces by Thérèse de Dillmont has been my go to collection of patterns so far.

The Antique Pattern Library has a good collection of patterns, photos, and books on need lace (and other arts and crafts). Everything here is public domain.

Internet Archive also has patterns, books, and photos of needle lace. The site is easy to navigate and allows you to filter your results.

Les Singuliers et Nouveaux Portraicts by Federico de Vinciolo has beautiful designs for needle lace and filet lace. Pretty complex but worth a look even if it's just to admire the designs.

4. Thread:

Coats Crochet Red Heart Fashion Crochet, Thread Size 3, White. It's cheap and quite a large thread size for lace making. However, I found it a good starting thread to try out the craft.

DMC 167G 20-Blanc Cebelia Crochet Cotton, White, Size 20, White. It's a very nice thread, tightly woven, and smooth. I have had very few problems with fraying so far. I wouldn't go much smaller than this until you are well-practiced with the craft.

Handy Hands has a good thread size guide which I found helpful.

5. Blog Tag Guide:

#learning guides: I try to include references for stitches and techniques on detail posts. If you're looking to replicate a stitch I've done look here.

#book review: Occasionally I review a book. Mostly happens because I have a project I need to research for. So, the reviews tend to be needle lace specific even if the book mentions other lace types.

Pattern: I tag all of my posts with what pattern I am using (if I'm using one). It is the name of the book/site and the pattern number/name. For links to the books/sites check the pattern list above. Below are all of my pattern tags.

#Needle-made laces p28 #Needle-made laces p51

Project Tags: If I make something without using a published pattern I tag it with the name I have dubbed the project.

#palmette lotus chain

#not lace: sometimes I post things that aren't lace but are not too far removed from fiber arts. If you want to browse them or filter them out, use this tag

Museum Tags: If I post a photo of a piece that is in a museum, I include the museum name in the tags. I also include a link to the museum's online collection/database entry for the piece if I can.