PRINCESS LACE HISTORY
Lace has always been a status symbol. Lace was such an expensive luxury item that only ladies from the noble class could afford to purchase it.
At the end of the 19th century there was a lace boom. Women of every class wanted to possess lace.
As the demand for lace was exceptionally high, the commercialization of lace was necessary.
Therefore, a new type of lace was introduced at the end of the 19th century in Belgium. The name of this lace was Princess lace.
The introduction of Princess lace was an immediate success.
By the end of the 19th century, the royal family of Belgium ordered the most wonderful Princess laces. Queen Maria-Hendrika was a dedicated fan of Princess lace.
The Belgian royals were so pleased that they granted the permission to call this Belgian tape lace “Princess lace” . In the past, Princess lace was sometimes called Royal lace or Imperial lace as the courts of Europe ordered these laces.
Princess lace was mostly a home industry. This was very comfortable for the lacemakers.
The production of Princess lace was concentrated in the area of Brussels, called the Dender (river) region. The most famous cities for Princess lace were Aalst, Ninove, Geraardsbergen, Dendermonde and Liedekerke.
In 1993, there were still 15 lace merchants who ordered lacemakers to make Princess lace. But the number of Princess lace merchants and lacemakers is decreasing.
Princess lace is a tape lace. The tapes are shaped and scalloped in the form of flowers, stalks and leaves. The ribbon is applied on the net by hand with a needle. Between the motifs, there are needlemade decorations. Sometimes, machine made flowers are added later on as an extra decoration.
The motifs are never made in advance. Each Princess lace was made after giving a pattern to the lacemaker.
The designers of the patterns for Princess lace were often inspired by the Brussels Dûchesse lace.
In the beginning, the tape used to make Princess lace was made by hand with bobbins. Later, machine woven ribbon was used. The machine made ribbons used for the making of Belgian Princess lace are produced in Calais, in the North of France. Nowadays, the French ribbon production has competition from the Chinese market.
Even in the early beginning of the production of Princess lace, the net used to be handmade tule. It could be made either with bobbins or needle. The bobbin made tule was called Brussels “drochel ground.”
Princess lace is ideal for christening dresses, mantillas, wedding veils and handkerchiefs because the basic material is light and transparent. Princess lace is ideal for ceremonial occasions. Princess lace is more commonly known in Belgium as “Ribbonwork”.
Princess lace is a traditional lace making technique of Belgium. This lace demands excellent designers and skillful, devoted lacemakers.
Princess lace was also called royal lace or imperial lace.