Obsessing Over Lace
My Favorite Lace Collar
One of my first big projects in needle lace.
I am hearing the siren song again! Lace…the delicate, delicious lines of geometric and organic shapes call to me. The feeling of the thread sliding through my fingers. The little sound the card makes as you pull a stitch tight. Spring and summer usually become the time I work on lace. It certainly isn’t something that is scheduled, but nevertheless, after looking through a decade of digital photos, the rhythm is clear. When the weather starts to warm up, I start making lace.
I’m sure its a natural tendency to steer away from wools which will get sticky and itchy on sweaty fingers, or overly hot in my lap as I work. And there is something so light and wonderful about the openness of the designs that draws me.
In the past, I have focused a lot on needle laces of various kinds. Punto in Aria, Amelia Ars, Freehand, Reticella and more. But this year, an old/new version is coming back to the fore — Fine thread crochet lace.
A collection of Irish (now Russian) crochet imitations of 17th century laces.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Irish crochet lace was developed into a fine and glorious style of lace making. It fell out of favor quite some time ago eventually morphing into the kinds of crochet we know as “Granny Squares.” These days, it has been revived as a Ukrainian/Russian craft hobby and let me tell you, these crafters are going gangbusters with the concept. Duplet is the name of the magazine that publishes all sorts of different varieties of this art.
What really makes me excited is that many of the designs are taken directly from the same historical needle lace pattern books which I have used for decades to create collars, cuffs and other details.
Most of the time, in these magazines, the motifs are being worked in a heavier thread than was used historically. The designs are being used to make jackets, skirts, tops and gowns. But when I see them I visualize them in very fine cotton threads, crocheted with great skill and mimicking historical laces better than some of the commercially produced copies.
Irish crochet imitation of 17th century edging (pattern available in the store here
Which brings me to a pet-peeve…I don’t understand why I hear so much push-back from people about “authenticity” when I encourage folks to make crochet imitations of historical laces with their own hands and then see photos of those same critics using machine-made, copies — less authentic looking copies, on their own garments. The hypocrisy boggles my mind sometimes…The attitude is that it is bad or wrong to use a technique that wasn’t known in the era of the original design to hand-make it, but buying a completely modern copy, made using industrial machinery and modern manufacture is acceptable? No honey…no.
Dress of 19th century-style faux Venetian-point lace, crocheted with the Irish crochet method.
When a crochet imitation is made at the right scale, it is virtually indistinguishable from a needle lace. Yet the machine made stuff…I can tell its machine made from quite a distance. My point is that people don’t have to reach outside of their skill-set to make beautiful things that look right. If they don’t have the time to master a new skill, like needle lace (which has quite the learning curve) why should anyone throw shade?
All ranting about historical snobbery aside though, I just love the look of these laces and what the creative Ukrainian designers are doing with them. This highly ornate lace form is alive and well, though not in Ireland anymore. In fact, some images are starting to use the moniker “Russian Crochet Lace.” Times sure change.
If you want a good facsimile of historical lace, but only know how to crochet…do it. You have the tools, the patterns most definitely exist. Get creative and make the past come alive in your own, special way.
