Front:
Lacemaking USA 22
YPS!
14
1987
48191
MI
ATA
Back:
THE ART OF LACEMAKING
First Day of Issue: August 14, 1987
First Issue Location: Ypsilant, Michigan
Skilled hands and nimble fingers are needed to produce
fine lace. Traditional linen lacemaking begins with a
ground mat, called the réseau, which holds the pattern,
also called the toilé, together. Most lace is made with
linen thread, cotton, silk, silver or gold. There are two
traditional types of lace: bobbin and needle point. Bob-
bin lace is sometimes called “pillow lace," because the
design is drawn on a pillow; then, the lacemaker sticks
small pegs into the pillow and works small bobbins of
threads around the pegs to produce the lace. As the
lacework is finished, the pegs are removed. Needle point
lacemaking uses a brides — a mesh net or groundwork
of connected threads. The lacemaker draws the design
on parchment and stitches it to a linen backing. Lace is
then made by filling in the pattern with buttonhole
stitches. Lacemaking has been a cottage industry in
Europe for centuries. And, with the settlement of the
New World by various nations, individual national and
regional styles and patterns were brought to America.
No. 87-77
©1987 The Maximum Card Collection
A Division of Unicover Corporation . Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007
Original painting by Tom Bjarnason.
