Dear Brenda Have looked it up in Santina Levy's History of Lace, and she confirms it was an invention of the 1880s - interestingly, originally worked on a silk backing destroyed with caustic soda (used in its own right as a cotton-improver in mercerisation). Acetate presumably cheaper, and a slightly less vicious process! I have seen people use the technique on water-soluble fabric with an ordinary sewing machine with some very effective results. [email protected] <Hello Sue
Chemical lace is cotton embroidery on acetate fabric, then the whole lot is steeped in acetone or something similar to dissolve away the acetate leaving only the embroidery. Discovered in the 1880s I think so Victorian but slightly late for the 1850s setting of the TV programme. http://lace.lacefairy.com/Lace/ID/Chemical.html Once you've seen a few pieces of chemical lace it's very recognisable even though it can have so many different styles. Brenda> - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]
