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Valenciennes lace is a type of
Valenciennes lace is a type of bobbin lace
Bobbin lace is a lace textile made by braiding and twisting lengths of thread, which are wound on bobbins to manage them. As the work progresses, the weaving is held in place with pins set in a lace pillow, the placement of the pins usually de ...
which originated in Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...
, in the Nord département of France, and flourished from about 1705 to 1780."Valenciennes." ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. 2nd ed. 1989. Later production moved to Belgium, in and around Ypres
Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though
the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...
. The industry continued onto the 19th century on a diminished scale. By the 19th century Valenciennes lace could be made by machine.
Valenciennes lace is made on a lace pillow in one piece, with the ''réseau'' (the net-like ground) being made at the same time as the ''toilé'' (the pattern). It differentiates itself from other types of lace because the openness of the ''réseau'', the closeness and evenness of the ''toilé'', which resembles cambric, and that it lacks any ''cordonnet'' (a loosely spun silk cord used to outline and define the pattern). Also, in real Flemish Valenciennes lace there are no twisted sides to the mesh; all are closely plaited, and as a rule the shape of the mesh is diamond but without the openings.
The ''réseau'' ground is made of four threads braided together, with eight threads at the crosses, which makes it very strong and firm. This is simpler and easier to make than the ground for Mechlin lace
Mechlin lace or Point de Malines is an old bobbin lace, one of the best known Flemish laces, originally produced in Mechelen. Worn primarily during summer, it is fine, transparent, and looks best when worn over another color. Used for women' ...
, though similar in appearance.
Valenciennes lace received an impetus in the seventeenth century, when the Scheldt
The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...
was channelled for river navigation between Cambrai
Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...
and Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...
, benefiting the export of Valenciennes' wool, fabric and fine arts. To use up flax yarn, women began to make the famous Valenciennes lace. Early Valenciennes lace was grounded with fancy mesh which was thicker and closer than the open ''réseau'' used later. The more open version was developed in Valenciennes, and thus the type of lace became known under the name of the town. The open mesh started to evolve in the 18th century and by the 19th century the characteristic ground made of four braided threads was in use. By the 1900s little of the famous lace was still made in Valenciennes.
References
External links
* {{lace types Bobbin lace Textile arts of France Textile arts of Belgium