Every girl loves LACE!

Lace is a kind of delicate fabric that made of yarn or thread in an open web- like pattern, made by machine or by hand. Originally linen, silk, gold, or silver threads were used. Now lace is often made with cotton thread, although linen and silk threads are still available. Manufactured lace may be made of synthetic fiber. A few modern artists make lace with a fine copper or silver wire instead of thread.

According to the way by which they are made, Lace is classified into 6 types. They are:

   1. Needle lace, such as Venetian Gros Point, is made using a needle and thread. This is the most flexible of the lace-making arts. While some types can be made more quickly than the finest of bobbin laces, others are very time-consuming. Some purists regard needle lace as the height of lace-making. The finest antique needle laces were made from a very fine thread that is not manufactured today.

   3. Bobbin lace, as the name suggests, is made with bobbins and a pillow. The bobbins, turned from wood, bone, or plastic, hold threads which are woven together and held in place with pins stuck in the pattern on the pillow. The pillow contains straw, preferably oat straw or other materials such as sawdust, insulation styrofoam, or ethafoam. Also known as Bone-lace. Chantilly lace is a type of bobbin lace.

   2. Cutwork, or whitework, is lace constructed by removing threads from a woven background, and the remaining threads wrapped or filled with embroidery.

   3. Tape lace makes the tape in the lace as it is worked, or uses a machine- or hand-made textile strip formed into a design, then joined and embellished with needle or bobbin lace.

Knotted lace includes macramé and tatting. Tatted lace is made with a shuttle or a tatting needle.

   4. Crocheted lace includes Irish crochet, pineapple crochet, and filet crochet.

Knitted lace includes Shetland lace, such as the "wedding ring shawl", a lace shawl so fine that it can be pulled through a wedding ring.

   5. Machine-made lace is any style of lace created or replicated using mechanical means.

   6. Chemical lace: the stitching area is stitched with embroidery threads that form a continuous motif. Afterwards, the stitching areas are removed and only the embroidery remains. The stitching ground is made of a water-soluble or non-heat-resistant material.

As for the origin of lace, opinions vary from person to person. An Italian claim is a will of 1493 by the Milanese Sforza family. While a Flemish claim is lace on the alb of a worshiping priest in a painting about 1485 by Hans Memling. But officially speaking, since lace evolved from other techniques, it is impossible to say that it originated in any one place.

The late 16th century marked the rapid development of lace, both needle lace and bobbin lace became dominant in both fashion as well as home decoration. To enhance the beauty of collars and cuffs, needle lace was embroidered with loops and picots.

The use of lace can be traced back to clergy of the early Catholic Church as part of vestments in religious ceremonies. But it did not come into widespread use until the 16th century in the northwestern part of the European continent. The popularity of lace increased rapidly and the cottage industry of lace making spread throughout Europe. In North America in the 19th century, missionaries spread the knowledge of lace making to the Native American tribes. St. John Francis Regis helped many country girls stay away from the cities by establishing them in the lace making and embroidery trade, which is why he became the Patron Saint of lace making.

 And in this year, lace comes as a new trend and  is sweeping over the whole fashion world.Time goes while the charm of lace stays.