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Bobbin Lace Grounds

These are open parts of lace, used as filler between other parts of the pattern, such as solid areas. Ground can also be also called net or (in French) reseau or fond.

If you can't find what you want below, have a look at Grounds from "A Lace Guide for Makers and Collectors" by Gertrude Whiting (1920).


Simple grounds, using two pairs per unit


Torchon:

pic of lace Torchon ground       pic of lace Double Torchon ground

Bucks Point:

pic of lace Bucks Point net      

Other:

pic of lace Half stitch ground or lattice stitch       pic of lace Twisted hole ground       pic of lace Mechlin ground       pic of lace Brussels ground      

Effects in simple grounds:

pic of lace Tally       pic of lace Dot       pic of lace Tiny diamond       pic of lace Small spider       pic of lace Hole       pic of lace Plaied rose ground      

Grounds using four pairs per unit


Torchon:

pic of lace Rose ground       pic of lace Triangular ground       pic of lace Spider ground      

Other:

pic of lace Valenciennes       pic of lace Round Valenciennes       pic of lace Armour net or armure-Binche       pic of lace Chequerboard ground       pic of lace Cane ground       pic of lace Dot ground      

Grounds using more than four pairs per unit


Torchon:

pic of lace Star ground       pic of lace Bias ground      

Bucks Point:

pic of lace Honeycomb       pic of lace Kat stitch       pic of lace Hexagon ground      

Snowflakes:

pic of lace Simple snowflake ground       pic of lace Ringed snowflake ground       pic of lace Hexagons surrounding snowflakes ground      

Combined:

pic of lace Rose and line ground       pic of lace Spider and line ground       pic of lace Spider and dot ground       pic of lace Star and dot ground      

Other:

pic of lace Sideways honeycomb / Kat stitch      


"A Dictionary of Lace" by Pat Earnshaw defines Reseau, and puts the various bobbin lace grounds into categories. I list them here, with my own picture for what I think she means. Some of the grounds are quite similar, so I group them together on my pages. I have also included pictures from to "A Lace Guide for Makers and Collectors" by Gertrude Whiting (1920). Click on a picture to go to the relevant webpage explaining how to make it.

Reseau (French, network). The ground of small meshes filling the open spaces of a lace. The precise course of the threads and the resultant shape of the mesh are an important dignosic feature in lace identification.

My nameMineWhitingPat Earnshaw's categories
Bucks Pointpic of lace pic of lace (i) fond simple, simple ground, fond clair, Lille, point, or net ground, tulle mesh: found in Bucks, Lille, Chantilly, Spanish bobbin, blonde;
Kat stitchpic of lace pic of lace (ii) fond double, double ground, point de Paris, Kat stitch, wire, French, six-point star, star, star-pointed ground, hairpin stitch, fond chant: found in French point de Paris lace, and in some Bucks, Chantilly, and Antwerp;
Rose groundpic of lace pic of lace (iii) cinq trous, five hole, fond a la virge, virgin ground, rose stitch (Beds): found in Antwerp, some early Valenciennes, some torchon and yak;
Valenciennespic of lace pic of lace (iv) Valenciennes, square, diamond mesh;
Round Valenciennespic of lace pic of lace (v) round Valenciennes, round mesh: found in some Milanese and eighteenth-century Flemish laces;
Twisted hole groundpic of lace pic of lace (vi) Spanish, maglia de spagna, twisted hole ground, twisted half stitch: found in silk laces, often from France and Italy, as well as Spain;
Mechlin groundpic of lace pic of lace (vii) Mechlin, Malines
Brussels groundpic of lace pic of lace (viii) droschel, vrai reseau, Brussels, bobbin mesh, Flemish ground: found in eighteenth-century point d'Angleterre, and Devon laces
Honeycombpic of lace pic of lace (ix) honeycomb, fond de marriage: found in some Bucks, often used as a filling
Ringed snowflakepic of lace pic of lace (x) partridge eye, oeil de perdix, fond de neige, snowflake ground: the characterstic reseau of Binche, sometimes found in Mechlin;
Torchon groundpic of lace pic of lace (xi) torchon;