flower or ornament, which resembles linen, and is often made of linen thread. The terms fond and champ are also applied to it.
The ornamental pattern is sometimes made with the ground as in Fig. 3, or separately, and then worked in or sewed on (appliqué), Fig. 4. The open-work stitches seen in the pattern are called modes, jours, or "fillings."
All lace has two edges, the "footing," a narrow lace which serves to keep the stitches of the ground firm that it may be sewed to the garment upon which it is to be worn (Fig. 3); and the "pearl," picot, couronne, a row of little points or loops at equal distances at the free edsre as shown in the figures.
The manufacture of point-lace was brought to the highest perfection by the Venetians as early as the sixteenth century. The pattern-books
Fig. 3.—Valenciennes lace of Yprès.
of that time contain examples of more than a hundred varieties of this costly lace. Some of these points were world-renowned for their fineness and exquisite beauty. Point de Venice, en relief, is the richest and most complicated of all laces. It is so strong, with its tiers upon tiers of stitches, that some of it has lasted for centuries. All the outlines are in high-relief, and innumerable beautiful stitches are introduced into the flowers. Italian influence under the Valois and Medicis spread the fashion for rich laces, and the Venetian points were in great demand in foreign countries, particularly in France. The exportation of costly laces was a source of great wealth to Venice. The making of lace was universal in every household, and the secret of the manufacture of her finest points she jealously guarded. Although both point and pillow lace were made at this time in all the leading countries of Europe, Flanders was the only rival of Italy in the markets of the world.
