The braids, cords, rings and buttons illustrated upon the following two
pages are all used in modern lace-making. They are all made of pure
linen thread, and according to the fancy, the lace including them may be
heavy or light. Royal Battenburg lace, as originated, was heavy--in some
cases massive; but at present many lighter varieties are made, as will
be surmised upon an inspection of the braids for its manufacture which
are represented on the pages mentioned. As shown by No. 1, these braids
are about a third narrower than their actual width, and the picot edges
numbered 16 and 17 are plain tatting made for the purpose, as the picot
edges woven for lighter laces are not heavy enough for Battenburg lace.
The numbers opposite the specimens are simply for convenience in
ordering, if the order is sent the lady mentioned in another part of the
book as the Pioneer of Lace-Making in America; but in ordering from
other lace-makers or manufacturers of braids, these numbers will be of
little use, as every lace-maker or manufacturer has his or her own
individual identifications for materials. Almost any of the braids, or
those very similar, may be found at large fancy stores, but in buying
them at such stores, be careful to get _linen_ braids, as cotton braids
do not make pretty lace, neither do they wear or launder well. In
ordering these braids from other lace-makers or from fancy stores, it
will be necessary to forward the illustration of the kind wanted, as the
braids cannot be described with sufficient accuracy to obtain the
desired varieties. Some are sold by the yard, some by the dozen yards
and others by the piece, according to the position to be occupied in the
work.
The point, Honiton and Princess braids are represented full size, and
are much daintier in texture than the Battenburg braids. Of this class
of braids (see No. 2) are made the plain Honiton and point laces, and
the braids for these two laces combined produce the Princess lace--a
creation whose beauty fully entitles it to its royal name.
The braids seen at No. 3, page 21, are those which are used in making
the new "Ideal Honiton" lace represented in another portion of the book.
As illustrated, these braids are three-quarters of their proper widths,
the top braid, No. 38, being just one inch wide in the fabric itself.
The "Ideal Honiton" is one of the prettiest laces made, and is very
appropriate for tidies, doilies, squares and scarfs. It is daintily
secured to the finest of lawn in charming designs, and then the lawn is
cut out from beneath it. (See doily, page 33).
The cords seen at No. 4 are used in making Battenburg laces, and greatly
increase the beauty of the work in addition to forming a distinctive
species of lace. After the ordinary Battenburg is worked with quite
thick braid, the cord, in any size desired, is used to follow one edge
of the design, as will be seen from illustrations upon other following
pages.