Part 1
by Anna Murphy, ©2018
In modern crochet, there is a distinction between lace and fabric of lacy stitches. Lace by definition is a fine fabric comprised of motifs or designs set within a mesh. There are examples of lace in crochet, but there is also the concept of using lacy stitches to make fabric.
The most well-known example of crochet lace is Irish Crochet. A famous school for making the lace was established in Clones, a small town in western Ireland, so you will occasionally see Irish lace referred to as Clones lace. Clones lace has some distinctive components not found in other schools, so the terms are not truly interchangeable.
Can you imagine crocheting intricate Irish lace with nothing more than a needle or a stiff wire, inserted into a cork or piece of wood, with the end filed down and bent into a little hook? The makers of Irish lace were primarily peasant women, and they used what tools they could find. This art form had been brought to Ireland from France during the 1800s by nuns. The potato famine created a population in need of income, so those who did not flee the blight were aided by wealthier women who set up schools to teach the lace making. They also established stores where the fabric was sold. Each woman would probably specialize in a particular motif. The various pieces were accumulated then joined with a mesh into a pattern much like freeform crochet. Queen Victoria was so impressed with the lace that she learned to make it, elevating the craft from a cottage industry to a fashion statement. Continue reading “Crochet Lacework, Then and Now”
Fruit of These Hands 