On Jun 20, 2007, at 22:58, Adele Shaak wrote:
I am trying to figure out what type(s) of lace would be appropriate for an English lady's evening costume for the period 1796 - 1817. Does anybody have any thoughts?
Since you're asking for *thoughts*... I think it would depend on what kind of "lady" you have in mind. A "hanging around the court, titled" Lady, or squire's daughter kind of "lady"? The second would probably wear very little lace if any (vide the well-known portrait of Jane Austen herself). As Devon says, lace was hard to get in England, for some people (which book was it where an aunt steals it?), because of the Napoleonic wars.
I do have two 5-metre pieces, one in Torchon and one in Old Flanders, and I think they're probably too late and too early in period.
Also too coarse/sturdy/dense for the fairly flimsy dresses of the period.
Could I get away with making some Bucks Point or Tonder, or were those later on in period?
If it's for a neckline trim... You could probably use either, even if Bucks is a tad late for the period (don't know about Toender. It was, probably, made at the time but, OTOH, where would an Englishwoman got hold of it?). The thing is, it would have to be fairly narrow edging, not a flashy big swath. And, at that width, there's not all that much difference between various PG techniques and designs, because we don't get much into what's called "floral" Bucks, where you add and take out pairs all the time. For that matter, if you found a Bucks (or even Toender) pattern with some cloth stitched elements in it and rendered those in half-stitch, they'd look "blondish" :)
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