Needle-made lace from an old DMC booklet

 

This lace comes from an old DMC booklet on needle-made lace, which gives patterns, instructions and thread suggestions for the home needlewoman. The author is Therese de Dillmont, which surprised me, because she died in 1890 and this booklet gives the impression of being from a slightly later time, as the fashions are Edwardian rather than Victorian. It led me to do some further research and I discovered that DMC continued to publish books in de Dillmont’s name after her death because her name was such an asset to the company. Another confusion is that her niece had the same name as her and they published books in her name too.

Therese de Dillmont was an Austrian needleworker and author who ran an embroidery school with her sister, owned several needlework shops in major European capital cities and wrote many books and pamphlets about needlework including her famous Encyclopaedia of needlework, which was published in 1886. She collaborated with the French thread company Dollfus-Mieg et Cie (DMC) and their joint publications promoted the company’s threads and became known for their clear instructions and illustrations.

The booklets included patterns printed on a strong flexible paper rather like Vilene fabric, which they called ‘lace paper’. These could be cut out and used directly for working on to although they do give instructions for pricking through them to make copies if needed.

The booklet then shows how the design on the pattern was outlined with a couched thread and the filling stitches worked across the pattern areas. This image shows how blanket stitch was used to fill the design and how bars of blanket stitch, worked over a thread, were used to join areas together. It also shows how the outlines of the design elements were edged with blanket stitch to give a more three-dimensional appearance to the lace. I was interested to see that all the images show the stitches being worked with the needle pointing away from the worker, as I have always worked them the other way up with the needle pointing towards me, but the final effect seems to be the same.

The booklet also gives some suggestions for how the needle-made lace motifs and trims could be used as decoration for fashion and household items. The designs are beautiful and the instructions are very clear so I can see why these booklets have stood the test of time and why de Dillmont’s encyclopaedia is still used by many needlewomen today.