Pillow Lace

By Adeline Panamaroff

Adeline, a freelance writer/proofreader, located in Edmonton, Alberta can be contacted at www.adelinepanamaroff.com for writing and marketing requests.

Bucks Point bobbin lace snowflake Christmas ornament / Stitched by Sheila H.

History: Lace making has its origins in the pre 1400s C.E. European needlework was drawn thread or cut work where whole pieces of a sturdy backing fabric, such as linen, were cut away or specific threads for the fabric pulled into a predetermined pattern. The opened areas were then filled and the edges made stable with embroidery worked with needle and thread. This broad family of needle craft, called needle lace, is where pillow lace, or bobbin lace, evolved.

Lace formed by twisting and crossing individual threads, around pins, originally made of fish bones and later metal, that were pressed into a pattern over a firm pillow, first emerged in Italy in the 15th Century. This form of lace, which was much lighter than the heavier needle laces, bound to heavy backing materials, soon became the craze of the very elite, church officials, and nobility. Its ability to be a mobile sign of wealth, an adornment that could be easily removed from one garment to another, used at cuffs and collars of garments, and stiff neck riffs, was also a very appealing feature of this new style of lace.

France’s King Louis XIV, with his love of bobbin lace, spread the demand for it throughout Europe in the 16th Century. Not wanting to look out of fashion, his court and clergy followed suit and soon the popularity for this lace grew to such height that lace manufacturing communities were established throughout France. Decrees were also made through France and other European nations stating that lace making had to be taught in convents and schools for privileged young ladies. While Venice and Florence remained the hubs for new lace innovations during the Renaissance period, bobbin lace manufacture was taken up throughout Europe as a lucrative cottage industry.  Lace styles such as Gros Point de Venise, Alençon lace, Chantilly, Lyons, Calais, and Valenciennes and others were innovated, learned, copied and imitated as the techniques spread from region to region.

The time and energy that was needed to make bobbin lace left it as a commodity that only the very wealthy could afford. Pieces of lace were so coveted that they were even included with luxury trade items like gemstones and gold coins.

 The French Revolution saw a swift shift in the use of lace. Those that wore it and those who made it quickly got killed or left the country in fear for their lives. Elsewhere in Europe Belgian and Venetian lace continued to be highly sought after, along with locally made laces. In the 1700s pillow lace making even got a good foothold in America, specifically Ipswich, Massachusetts. 

The exclusivity of lace came to a grinding halt when machine knitted lace came about with the industrial revolution. This mode of mass production made lace affordable and available to most everyone. Handmade bobbin lace nearly vanished as an art form, and the market for it was totally destroyed. Belgian made pillow lace has still managed to survive as an ultra luxury item. It can be seen in wedding dresses and in high fashion brand names.

Technique: Using a firmly stuffed pillow, historically using chopped hay, now often a Styrofoam form, as a place to secure pins that are pushed through a pattern placed over the pillow, the design of the lace is laid out. Threads that are wound around long wooden bobbins, one at each end of the thread, are then wound around the pins, with the middle of the thread starting at the top of the piece. Twisting and crossing stitches are used to follow the pattern laid out on the pillow. Each movement of the bobbins involves 2 bobbins in each hand, the 2 bobbins representing the 2 ends of one thread. The weight of the bobbins helps create tension in the threads, and once a section of lace is complete the pins are removed from the pillow, releasing the lace and making room for the next section of pins and pattern to be worked.

Motifs traditionally have been floral in nature, or different types of scroll work. Both holistically and today pillow lace can be done with thread alone, or on a light mesh. Those done on a light mesh tends to be used for applique or insert panels in larger fabric pieces, and those done with thread alone usually are meant for use as edging.

Innovation: New innovations in pillow lace have been made over the last century. Long strips of lace, or large applique panels are no longer the only way to enjoy this delicate fiber art. Smaller pieces like bookmarks, hanging ornaments with wire inserts, and the use of small beads and padded stitches are used to create 3-dimensional, multimedia works.

New designs and charts are continually being published, which are shared through likeminded needle crafters and professional trades people.

Pillow Lace butterflies & hearts / Stitched by Sheila H.

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