LACE, A RICH TRADITION

Bruges and lace

Lace was born in the 16th century. At first mothers would teach their daughters to make bobbin lace; lace schools were soon opened everywhere. In Bruges there were various large lace schools, such as the Foereschool and the Apostoline Sisters’ lace school. If the teaching of lacemaking started out as a means of giving poor households the means of earning a living, over the centuries it evolved into preserving a unique pastime. However, lace and lace history are also particularly important for tourism in the town. The lace sector is still today one of the contributors to tourism to which the municipal authorities pay particular attention.

The Kantcentrum: thanks to the Apostoline Sisters

The Kantcentrum originates in the Apostoline Sisters’ lace school. The nuns founded the Kantcentrum bzw (not-for-profit organisation) in 1970 in order to give new impetus to lace teaching. Two years later the not-for-profit organisation restarted the lace school. Meantime the sisters had disappeared from the organisation. In 2014 the Kantcentrum moved from the historic convent buildings on the Adornes estate into the Apostolines’ former lace school (on the same estate). The Kantcentrum now delivers lace courses, runs its own publishing house for books and lace patterns and organises lace workshops. It has brought out its own lace magazine in 4 languages since 1978 and organises lace teacher training. The Kantcentrum has evolved into a centre of excellence for lace in its widest sense which has a worldwide reputation.

Techniques

Basic stitches

Basic stitches

Cloth stitch: cross, twist, cross

Half stitch: cross, twist

Whole stitch and twist: cross, twist, cross, twist

Binche

Binche

Lace group: continuous lace

Origin: evolved in the 17thcentury from Old Flemish continuous lace

Ground: many snowflakes and confusing ground with all kinds of réseaux

Close’ areas: cloth stitch, here and there an accent in half stitch

Designs: abstract; concealed, repetitive motifs; flowers; stems; animals

Decorative features: decorative grounds; picots on the edge, scalloped edges or footside; “toveressenwerk” (witch lace/point de fée/fairy stitch) when there are very many square tallies and when worked with very fine thread.

 

Blonde

Blonde

Lace group: continuous thread

18th century lace

Ground: reseau of fragile tulle

Motifs: colth stitch with workers in thick silk, give a satin sheen

Designs: flowers, festoons of leaves

Decorations: small openings and ornamental filling stitches

Chantilly

Chantilly

Lace group: continuous thread

Appeared first in the region of Chantilly in the 18th century

Made of black silk thread, more rarely of white silk

Ground: lille reseau

Motifs: halfstitch defined by a decorative gimp

Designs: floral sprays, large pieces of lace being worked in sections and invisibly joined afterwards

Decorations: delicate fillings within the motifs

Cluny

Cluny

Lace group: continuous thread

Based on ancient cutwork from de Musée de Cluny

Ground: plaited bars, brides

Solid parts: wholestitch, halfstitch, wholestitch and twist

Decorations: small picots, wheatears, venetian plaits

Point de Paris

Point de Paris

Lace group: continuous thread

Originated around Paris in the 18th century

Ground: hexagonal mesh ground

Motifs: wholestitch outlined by a gimp

Designs: flowers, leaves, garlands, animals

Decorations: inner spaces of the motifs enriched with decorative fillings, rose ground, tallies, peas, bordered with picots

Torchon lace

Torchon lace

Lace group: continuous thread

Simplest type of lace derived from its forerunners

Ground: simple and composed reseaux

Motifs: wholestitch, halfstitch, twisted stitch

Designs: variety of geometric patterns

Motifs: spiders, fans, palmettes, occasionally tallies and gimp thread

 

Fine Bruges Flower Work (Duchesse)

Fine Bruges Flower Work (Duchesse)

Lace group: part lace

Origin: evolved from 18thcentury Brabant and Brussels part lace and can be seen as a revival of Old Flemish part lace which dates from the mid-19thcentury.

Ground: the parts are often linked with plaits, with or without picots.

‘Close’ areas: alternating cloth stitch and half stitch

Designs: very typical small flowers, trefoils, stems, leaves and small ball shapes

Decorative features: gimp surrounding motifs, relief through raised veins, square tallies as flower centres

Brussels Duchesse always has a needle lace medallion (point de gaze) which is sewn into the lace.

 

 

Bruges Flower Work

Bruges Flower Work

Lace group: part lace

Origin: evolved from the 18thcentury Brabant and Brussels part laces.

Ground: plaits with or without picots, twisted pairs

Close’ areas: motifs in cloth stitch, half stitch and cloth stitch with twist

Designs: flowers, leaves, stems,… swans and animal figures. Usually the design contains natural elements or a natural scene.

Decorative features: leaf-shaped tallies, openings.

Valenciennes

Valenciennes

Lace group: continuous thread

From the town of Valenciennes second half 17th century

Ground: Bruges Valenciennes round meshes, Yper Valenciennes square meshes

Solid parts: a continuous line of tiny holes outline part of the motifs

Design: motifs borrowed from nature: flowers, leaves, garlands, animals

Decorations: oeil-de-perdrix fillings, peas, bordered with picots

 

Flanders

Flanders

Lace group: continuous thread

Result of slow evolution from the Flemish laces of the 17th century

Reseau: five-hole ground or Flanders ground

Motifs: wholestitch outlined by a gimp

Designs: flowers, garlands, animals

Decorations: partridge eyes, snowflakes, peas decorate the toilé and reseau, bordered with picots

Mechlin lace

Mechlin lace

Lace group: continuous thread

Originated in the 18th century

Ground: hexagonal mesh “ijsgrond”

Solid parts: wholestitch encircled with an outlining thread

Motifs: borrowed from nature

Decorations: square points d’esprit, decorative fillings in and between the flowers, bordered with picots

 

Point de Lille

Point de Lille

Lace group: continuous thread

Simplified version of the Mechlin lace, popular in the second half of the 19th century

Ground: hexagonal mesh “tule”

Motifs: wholestitch surrounded by an outlining gimp

Designs: mostly flowers

Decorations: decorative fillings, eyelets in the motifs, rose ground, tallies, bordered with picots

Rosaline

Rosaline

Lace group: part lace

Origin: developed from Duchesse at the end of the 19thcentury and can be seen as a bobbin lace imitation of the 17th century Venetian needle lace with the same name.

Ground: bars of varying lengths with or without picots.

‘Close’ areas: main motif is a small, 3 or 5 petal rose worked in cloth stitch with an eyelet. In addition we find scrolls, small fish, beans, and leaves

Designs: garlands of small roses, floral scenes

Decorative features: openings, light decorative grounds as well as point ground and honeycomb, a bit of half stitch. Rosaline perlée has a “pearl” worked in needle lace in the centre of each small rose.