Two lace collars. Left: TRC 2007.0568, right: TRC 2015.0137mmThe two laces illustrated here were used as a decoration around the neck. In both examples the pattern is formed by curved solid lines ending with buds. They are produced in the style of Italian bobbin lace, called Cantu or Rosaline, popular at the end of the 19th / beginning of 20th century. The machine made example (TRC 2015.0137mm) is a chemical lace made of synthetic threads. The handmade piece (TRC 2007.0568) is crafted from a linen thread.

Filling: In the handmade piece, cloth stitch and half stitch are used to form the stems and buds. The chemical lace is an embroidery on which we can clearly see machine lock stitches. This lace looks neat from a distance, but through magnification the outlines show fuzziness. Also, the half stitch used for buds imitates hand made forms. 


Gimp: The handmade piece has no gimp. Some elements in the machine made lace are outlined by a brighter and more shiny thread. 


Ground: In both cases the floral motives are connected by bars/braids. The bars in the handmade lace look solid and regular. In the machine made example the stitches of the bars are loose, and do not have a common structure.  


Side: The handmade piece is equal on both sides. The machine made lace has a front and back side. The front side is indicated by dense and shiny stitches that outline shapes.

Handmade lace:		Machine-made lace:
TRC 2007.0568		TRC 2015.0137mm