Lace, lace, lace

Lace and weddings go hand in hand...... 

When I was growing up in Crete, at a time when no one owned a car and people were able to sit outside their home on the street, all the women would come out in the afternoon after a day's work, and hang.  They would stitch, or crochet and teach the younger girls to do the same.  They would work on their daughters dowries.  I created many cross-stitch and single stitch projects on painted needlepoint canvas those years.   My sister was taught to crochet by a neighbor. She was really good at it and created many beautiful things for me like curtains and a blanket.  Crochet lace is a lace I have known all my life.    Missing those happy, relaxing, worry free days!!!

After I moved to the US and lived with my paternal grandmother, I saw that she knew how to crochet as well.  She has made for me many doilies and an amazing crochet tablecloth that I even use today.  Of course, as I was getting older, I was noticing other types of lace, machine made as people would say.  These were more affordable and would be used for window treatments or decorating home furnishings.  

We love using lace at ‘dahlia’.  It’s elegant, romantic and just plain beautiful.  We search for pretty lace everywhere we go and try to be very creative in how we use it.  Wedding dresses have lace, why not our candles.  There is no reason why you should not add some romance with lace to any style wedding!

Continue reading for a short history of lace
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History of lace

The earliest forms of lace were not the woven fabric that we know today, but rather cutwork, that was first practiced by the nuns in the convents of central and southern Europe. This work was designed exclusively for altar decorations and the robes of bishops.

The lace we know of today dates back to the sixteenth century.  Due to it’s time-consuming production, it has always been an expensive luxury item.  From the very beginning and on to the 18th century, it was worn by both aristocratic men and women and it was often the most costly part of their outfit.  Lace adorned women’s and men’s collars and cuffs, draped women’s shoulders, hands, heads and even covered entire gowns. The limitless sums of money spent on extravagant laces prompted many rulers to place restrictions on the wearing and importing of lace from other countries. Regardless of the laws, the smuggling of lace was widespread.  

In the beginning, lace was made by two distinct processes.  Needle lace was created by the use of a needle with a single thread.  The second, Bobbin Lace, was created by the use of many threads at once, each attached to bobbins and a pillow for support.  

Lace styles evolved throughout the centuries in response to changes in fashion. There are two broad divisions of lace; hand-made lace and machine-made lace. In the world of commerce today the latter which has developed from the former, is the more important. This for the reason that hand-made lace, which is produced with such laborious toil, skill and patience, isn’t affordable by most and considered a luxury.  

Sources:
https://www.flysfo.com/museum/exhibitions/lace-sumptuous-history
http://www.mdhs.org/costumeblog/?p=866

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