Limerick lace is a specific class of lace originating in Limerick, Ireland, which was later produced throughout the country. It evolved from the invention of a machine which made net in 1808. Until John Heathcoat invented a net-making machine in Devon in 1815, handmade net was a very expensive fabric. This meant cheap net became available to Irish lacemakers, particularly after 1823 when Heathcoat's patent expired.[1]
Limerick lace is a hybrid lace of embroidered needle lace or crocheted lace on a machine made net base. It is a 'mixed lace' rather than a ‘true lace’, which would be entirely hand made. Limerick lace comes in two forms: tambour lace, which is made by stretching a net over a frame like a tambourine and drawing threads through it with a hook, and needlerun lace, which is made by using a needle to embroider on a net background.[2]
The lace was noted for its variety of delicate fillings, as many as 47 different ones being found in one collar.[3]
- ^ Ó Cléirigh, Nellie; Rowe, Veronica (1995). Limerick lace : a social history and a maker's manual. Gerrards Cross: C. Smythe. ISBN 0861403681. OCLC 37490925.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Potter 2014was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Earnshaw, Pat (1984). A Dictionary of Lace. Shire Publications. ISBN 0-85263-700-4.