Battenberg lace is a type of

tape lace Tape lace is made with a straight tape which is bent into the shape required and sewn into position. Various needle lace fillings may be used to fill the gaps. The tape is usually machine made. This type of lace is also known as mixed tape lace, o ...

. It is of American origin, designed and first made by Sara Hadley of New York. This American lace was named either in honor of the wedding of

Princess Beatrice Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (Beatrice Elizabeth Mary; born 8 August 1988) is a member of the British royal family. She is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. She is a niece of Charle ...

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

's youngest daughter, to

Prince Henry of Battenberg Prince Henry of Battenberg (Henry Maurice; 5 October 1858 – 20 January 1896) was a morganatic descendant of the Grand Ducal House of Hesse. He became a member of the British royal family by marriage to Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom ...

, or from the widowed Princess Beatrice. It is made using bobbins and needles, or just needles alone.The original Battenberg lace used just one stitich:

buttonhole Buttonholes are reinforced holes in fabric that buttons pass through, allowing one piece of fabric to be secured to another. The raw edges of a buttonhole are usually finished with stitching. This may be done either by hand or by a sewing machine. ...

picot. Other stitches that were later used include flat wheel (also known as spider or rosette) and rings or "buttons). With the popularity of Battenberg lace, all

(sometimes called ''braid lace'' ) was called Battenberg lace in the US. Some consider it a form of

Renaissance lace Renaissance lace is a type of tape lace. The name refers to the rebirth of antique Italian forms to create the patterns of this 19th century lace. The outline of the design is made of bought tape. Manufacturers produced a huge number of suitable ...

, or ''Dentelle Renaissance,'' as it is still called in Belgium. Others regard Renaissance lace as a different type of tape lace. Tape laces were known in the 19th century as modern point laces, as the filling stitches were very similar to those found in true point laces. 19th-century tape laces use inexpensive machine-woven tape as the outline, and the availability of this commercial tape led to increased popularity of Battenberg lace. Originally Battenberg lace was heavier than the other machine tape laces such as

Princess lace Princess lace is a tape lace. It is made of straight machine-made lace tapes also called princess lace. The lacemaker bends and folds these into the shape of flowers and leaves, and sews them into position. History Princess lace was introduced ...

Battenberg lace was frequently used as an edging, and was particularly popular in the United States in the 19th century. By the end of the 1800s, a wide variety of tapes and patterns, stamped on pink or white muslin were available for purchase from companies such as Butterick, Sears, and Montgomery Ward. Battenberg tape

References

Tape lace {{fashion-stub

Further reading

References