Item 26-281

This is a very narrow machine-made cotton insertion lace, dating from 1900–1935. 

Although it is modest in width, it is exactly the type of lace that dressmakers and lingerie makers kept in large quantities because it was so versatile. The fact that it remains wound into a substantial continuous roll makes it especially desirable to collectors and textile conservators.

The lace is worked in fine white cotton with a simple geometric openwork pattern of zigzags and tiny diamonds. Both edges are straight and woven rather than scalloped, identifying it as insertion lace rather than edging lace. It was intended to be sewn between two pieces of fabric or used as a decorative insertion in seams.

We haven’t unwound it from the ball, it is still as we found it, but there appears to be quite a few metres remaining.