Lace made by Eveline Keijser
Status Lace dates back from times where it indicated status. In the 17th century when it was primarily worn by the upper class, it was considered of great value and therefore seen as a fine investment. Fields of land where sold to finance the lace. Even men and priests started wearing lace, and certain rules where applied to it because they feared frivolous minds. Lace applied to robes worn in church needed to be of solid structure, it had to match the fabric, it could not visualise spider web like constructions, was forbidden to look profane or to common and could only be manufactured from linen yarns* Several upper class women had themselves portrayed while holding a shuttle in their hand, as they thought it would make them look less idle. Lace adapted its shape following the fashion through the years, where it was worn as collars, scarves and veils by women in the 17th century, and worn around wrists, stockings and boots by men. Nevertheless the tatted lace slowly disappeared as it could only be made by hand. Machines started to take over and where able to produce fine lace that visually couldn’t be distinguished from handmade lace. Though there were other techniques of making lace dating back to the 16th century, like bobbin lace (woven) or needle lace (stitched), tatting distinguishes itself by being a unique kind of lace because it is knotted and thus many times stronger. Not even today a machine has ever been able to create tatted lace. * Textielhistorische bijdragen, E.Hartkamp, page 139