Yak lace

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Yak lace refers to a coarse bobbin lace in the guipure manner, typically made from wool. [1] It was mainly made in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire in imitation of Maltese and Greek laces. [2] [3] While the name suggests the lace is made using yak hair, it can be made of any wool or worsted yarn. [1] [2] An example of yak lace in the Pitt Rivers Museum collection [4] illustrates the Torchon style motifs common in this lace [5] .

Although woollen laces had been made since the 17th century, it was not until the mid 19th century that "yak lace" became popular. [2] Despite the difficulty of working with naturally elastic woollen yarn which meant that the lace instantly shrank to two thirds of its size once unpinned from the pillow, it was inexpensive, quick and easy to make and became popular and widely used. [2] Yak lace could be produced in various weights, ranging from lightweight trimmings for children's dresses and underwear, to heavier, upholstery-weight lace suitable for curtains. [2] Black yak lace was also widely used for mourning dress. [1] [2] Examples of woolen lace in other colors exist in archives. [6] The popularity of woollen lace was boosted by the nineteenth century hygienist Gustav Jäger's promotion of wool fabrics. [2]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spinning wheel</span> Device for spinning thread, yarn, or silk from natural or synthetic fibers

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lace</span> Openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand

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Worsted is a high-quality type of wool yarn, the fabric made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from Worstead, a village in the English county of Norfolk. That village, together with North Walsham and Aylsham, formed a manufacturing centre for yarn and cloth in the 12th century, when pasture enclosure and liming rendered the East Anglian soil too rich for the older agrarian sheep breeds. In the same period, many weavers from the County of Flanders moved to Norfolk. "Worsted" yarns/fabrics are distinct from woollens : the former is considered stronger, finer, smoother, and harder than the latter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobbin lace</span> Handmade lace

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobbin</span> Spool or cylinder around which thread, line or wire is coiled.

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Woolen or woollen is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn. Woolen yarn is in contrast to worsted yarn, in which the fibers are combed to lie parallel rather than carded, producing a hard, strong yarn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poplin</span> Strong, plain-weave fabric with a fine cross-rib

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of knitting</span>

Knitting is the process of using two or more needles to pull and loop yarn into a series of interconnected loops in order to create a finished garment or some other type of fabric. The word is derived from knot, thought to originate from the Dutch verb knutten, which is similar to the Old English cnyttan, "to knot". Its origins lie in the basic human need for clothing for protection against the elements. More recently, hand knitting has become less a necessary skill and more of a hobby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hank (unit of measure)</span> Textile term; coiled or wrapped unit of yarn or twine

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crêpe (textile)</span> Any of various fabrics with twisted threads, often crinkled surface

Crêpe, also spelled crepe or crape, is a silk, wool, or synthetic fiber fabric with a distinctively crisp and crimped appearance. The term "crape" typically refers to a form of the fabric associated specifically with mourning. Crêpe was also historically called "crespe" or "crisp".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hand spinning</span> Method of turning fiber into thread

Spinning is an ancient textile art in which plant, animal or synthetic fibres are drawn out and twisted together to form yarn. For thousands of years, fibre was spun by hand using simple tools, the spindle and distaff. After the introduction of the spinning wheel in the 13th century, the output of individual spinners increased dramatically. Mass production later arose in the 18th century with the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution. Hand-spinning remains a popular handicraft.

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Textile manufacturing is one of the oldest human activities. The oldest known textiles date back to about 5000 B.C. In order to make textiles, the first requirement is a source of fibre from which a yarn can be made, primarily by spinning. The yarn is processed by knitting or weaving to create cloth. The machine used for weaving is the loom. Cloth is finished by what are described as wet process to become fabric. The fabric may be dyed, printed or decorated by embroidering with coloured yarns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bradford Industrial Museum</span> Industrial museum, Mill museum, Textile museum, in Eccleshill, Bradford

Bradford Industrial Museum, established 1974 in Moorside Mills, Eccleshill, Bradford, United Kingdom, specializes in relics of local industry, especially printing and textile machinery, kept in working condition for regular demonstrations to the public. There is a Horse Emporium in the old canteen block plus a shop in the mill, and entry is free of charge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monmouth cap</span> Knitted, round cap associated with Monmouth, Wales

The Monmouth cap was an item of woollen headgear fashionable between the 15th and 18th centuries, and associated with the town of Monmouth in South East Wales. The knitted round caps were used by both soldiers and sailors, and they were widely exported.

Yak fiber is the term commonly used to refer yak fiber wool produced from the coat hair of yaks, a long-haired bovine mainly found in the Himalayan region, Tibetan plateau, and some areas of Mongolia and Central Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ipswich lace</span> Bobbin lace from Ipswich, Massachusetts

Ipswich lace is a historical fashion accessory, the only known American hand-made bobbin lace to be commercially produced. Centered in the coastal town of Ipswich, Massachusetts north of Boston, a community of lacemaking arose in the 18th century. Puritan settlers to the area likely made and wore lace as early as 1634, because Sumptuary laws from the early colonial records indicate this activity. In fact, the earliest known record of the act of lacemaking in the region comes from a court case in 1654 associated with the home of Governor John Endicott. An indentured servant in the household accused the governor's son Zerubbabel with assault, which occurred while she was working at her lace cushion. Earliest known records of the commercial production indicate that lace produced by local women was used to barter for goods in the 1760s, as denoted by ledger account books belonging to local merchants. These laces were sold in the region from Boston to Maine.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Definition of yak lace at the Embroiderer's Guild website. Accessed 8 June 2012
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Makovicky, Dr. Nicolette, Beds Maltese and 'Yak' lace, The Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. Accessed 8 June 2012
  3. Jackson, Emily (1971). A history of hand-made lace. Tower Books.
  4. "Sample of black Yak lace wrapped in a bundle. Collections online". www.prm.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  5. Gwynne, Judyth L. (1997). The illustrated dictionary of lace (1. publ ed.). London: Batsford. ISBN   978-0-7134-7821-1.
  6. Institution, Smithsonian. "Dark Green Yak Wool Bobbin Lace". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2024-10-15.