188 L A C E 16. pillow. The pillow or cushion varies in shape in different countries. Some lace makers use a circular pad, backed with a flat board, in order that it may be placed upon a table and easily moved as the worker may wish. Other lace workers use a well-stuffed round pillow or short bolster, flattened at the two ends, so that they may hold it between their knees. On the upper part of the pattern are fastened the ends of the threads from the bobbins. The bobbins thus hang across the pattern. Fig. 15 shows the commencement of a double set of three-thread plaitings. The compact portion in a pillow lace has a woven appearance (fig. 10). lu the 17th century pillow lace in imitation of the scroll patterns of point lace was made. This sort of work, pro duced chiefly in Flanders, went under the name of "point d Angleterre " (fig. 17). Into Spain and France much lace from Venice and Flanders was imported as well as into England, where from the IGth century the manu facture of " bone lace " by peasants in the midland and southern counties was carried on. This bone lace consisted chiefly of borders done in imitation of the Venetian " merletti a piombini." In Charles II. s time its manufac- tare was of sufficient im portance to demand par liamentary attention. The trade was threatened with extinction by the more artistic and finer Flemish laces. The importation of the latter was prohibited. Flemish lace workers sought to evade the pro hibitions by calling certain of their Lices "point d Angleterre." Butthe dif ficulties which attended the smuggling into Eng land of these "points d Angleterre" appear _ to FlG i7._i>iii ow . ma( i e Lace "abrides." have stimulated English Flemish. 17th century. Sometimes dealers in lace anxious to called " Point d Angleterre." supply the demands of fashion to obtain the services of Flemish lace makers and to induce them to settle in Eng land. It is from some such cause that English pillow lace closely resembles in character of design pillow laces of Brussels, Mechlin, and Valenciennes. Fig. 18 gives three sorts of Buckinghamshire pillow laces, the patterns of which have been in use since the middle of the 18th century. In (a) is a variety of fillings- in, which give the name of "trolly" to such specimens. It is an adaptation of Mechlin " trolle kant " or sampler lace, sent round to dealers and purchasers to show the variety of patterns which the lace makers happened to be at work upon. Specimens (b) and (c) are both in the style of certain 18th century Mechlin lace?, (c) being also like laces made at Lille and Arras. As skill in making lace developed, patterns and particu lar plaitings came to be identified with certain localities. Mechlin enjoyed a high reputation for her production, which was in the 17th century poetically styled the "queen of laces." The chief features of this pillow lace are the plaiting of the meshes, and the outlining of the pattern or toile with a thread. The ordinary Mechlin mesh is hexagonal in shape. Four of the sides are of double twisted threads, two are of four threads plaited three times (fig. 19). The mesh of Brussels pillow lace is also hexagonal. Four of the sides are of double-twisted threads, two are of four threads plaited four times (fig. 20). The finer specimens of Brussels lace are remarkable for the fidelity and grace with which floral compositions are rendered. Many of these compositions are either reproductions or adaptations of designs for point d Alen9on, and in such patterns the soft quality of fine pillow-made lace contrasts with the harder and more crisp appearance of needlepoint lace. In FIG. 18. English Pillow Laces. 18th century, the Brussels pillow lace (fig. 21) much realistic effect is obtained by the delicate modelling imparted to the flowers by means of a bone instrument used to give concave shapes to petals and leaves, the edges of which are often marked 7 FIG. 20. Enlargement of Mesh of Brussels ground, showing the four-twisted and two- plaited sides in each mesh. Fio. 21. Pillow Lace. Brussels. 18th century. Fig. 22. by a flattened and slightly raised cordonnet of plaited work. Honiton pillow lace resembles Brussels lace. As a rule it is made with a coarser thread, and the designs lack the careful drawing and composition which may be seen in Brussels pillow laces. In Valenciennes lace there are no
