Vigo County Historical Society

Historical Treasure Article

Historic Treasure of the Week - May 20, 1984
By Georgia Jones
Vigo County Historical Society

Romance and elegance of lace survives the years

Handmade lace is a token of the past, a nearly lost art with a legacy that is measured in fragile cobwebs and cherished through generations in a family or preserved in museums.

There are two types of handmade lace considered "true" lace by collectors -- needle made and bobbin.

Needle made (the old term is needlepoint, but that has come to mean a type of canvaswork) lace is embroidered with a tapestry needle on heavy paper or canvas, and the paper cut away. The design is then sewn on mesh or joined by threads called "brides." Needle made lace developed from medieval embroidery on linen for church vestments.

Battenberg is a larger, heavier, bolder edition of needle point, done with coarser material. It is much easier to make because the tapes and threads are so much coarser.

Battenberg was made in the U.S. during the 19th century. It was often used for tea cloths or as an edging for the other pieces of embroidery.

The tapes used were purchased like ribbon, laid out in a pattern and worked inside the piece by hand.

Patterns could be purchased pre-printed on material or could be hand drawn onto the material of the needleworkers choice. The cloth was basted onto paper to give a firmer backing for working.

Smooth linen braid was preferred to cotton braid which was said to have lessened the beauty and value of the piece of Battenberg lace. The working threads should also be linen.

The Historical Museum of the Wabash valley is fortunate to have several pieces of completed Battenberg and also several pieces started by some needle worker that were never completed.

The piece pictured here is a hand drawn pattern on a pale blue material. The tape has been basted on and one corner shows intricate stitches used to hold the tape together. The backing that is basted to the material is brown paper with a canceled postage stamp and the date 1909, which gives us the idea as to when the piece was started.

Magazines of the period such as Ladies Fancy work Magazine, Needlecraft, Modern Priscilla and The Delineator printed patterns and instructions for making various types of lace at home.

The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St. , is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday through Friday.