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Openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand

Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted or crocheted lace. Other laces such as these are considered as a category of their specific craft. Knitted lace, therefore, is an example of knitting. This article considers both needle lace and bobbin lace. While some experts say both needle lace and bobbin lace began in Italy in the late 1500s,
Knotted lace includes macramé and tatting. Machine made lace is any style of lace created or replicated using mechanical means. Needle lace, such as Venetian Gros Point, is made using a needle and thread. This is the most flexible of the lace making arts. While some types can be made more quickly than the finest of bobbin laces, others are very time consuming. Some purists regard needle lace as the height of lace making. The finest antique needle laces were made from a very fine thread that is not manufactured today. Tape lace makes the tape in the lace as it is worked, or uses a machine or hand made textile strip formed into a design, then joined and embellished with needle or bobbin lace. Tatting is a textile craft consisting of a series of knots and loops arranged with a shuttle or needle based process.

The origin of lace is disputed by historians. An Italian claim is a will of 1493 by the Milanese Sforza family. A Flemish claim is lace on the alb of a worshiping priest in a painting about 1485 by Hans Memling. But since lace evolved from other techniques, it is impossible to say that it originated in any one place. The fragility of lace also means that few exceedingly old specimens are extant. This led to less demand for lace. In the mid 1400s some lacemakers turned to using flax, which cost less, while others migrated, bringing the industry to other countries. However, lace did not come into widespread use until the 16th century in the northwestern part of the European continent. The popularity of lace increased rapidly and the cottage industry of lace making spread throughout Europe. The late 16th century marked the rapid development of lace, both needle lace and bobbin lace became dominant in both fashion as well as home décor. For enhancing the beauty of collars and cuffs, needle lace was embroidered with loops and picots. Sumptuary laws in many countries had a major impact on lace wearing and production throughout its early history, though in some countries they were often ignored or worked around. Documenting lace in Italy in the 15th century is a list of fine laces from the inventory of Beatrice d'Este, Duchess of Milan, from 1493.

In Venice, lace making was originally the province of leisured noblewomen, using it as a pastime. Some of the wives of doges also supported lacemaking in the Republic. One, Giovanna Malipiero Dandolo, showed support in 1457 for a law protecting lacemakers. In 1476, the lace trade was seriously affected by a law which disallowed "silver and embroidery on any fabric and the Punto in Aria of linen threads made with a needle, or gold and silver threads." In the early 1500s, the production of lace became a paid activity, accomplished by young girls working in the houses of noblewomen, creating lace for household use, and in convents. Lace was a popular Venetian export in the 1500s and 1600s, and the demand remained strong in Europe, even when the export of other items exported by Venice during this period slumped. Schools were founded to teach lacemaking to the young. The 17th century court of King Louis the XIV of France was known for its extravagance, and during his reign lace, particularly the delicate Alençon and Argentan varieties, was extremely popular as court dress. The frontange, a tall lace headdress, became fashionable in France at this time. Louis XIV's finance minister, Jean Baptiste Colbert, strengthened the lace industry by establishing lace schools and workshops in the country.

Lacemaking in Spain was established early, as by the 1600s its Point d'Espagne lace, made of gold and silver thread, was very popular. Lace was made for use in churches and for the mantilla. Lacemaking may have come to Spain from Italy in the 1500s, or from Flanders, its province at the time.

Barbara Uttmann learned how to make bobbin lace as a girl from a Protestant refugee. In 1561 she started a lace making workshop in Annaberg. By the time of her death in 1575, there were over 30,000 lacemakers in that area of Germany. Following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in France in 1685, many Huguenot lacemakers moved to Hamburg and Berlin. The earliest known lace pattern book was printed in Cologne in 1527. The court of Queen Elizabeth of England maintained close ties with the French court, and so French lace began to be seen and appreciated in England. Lace was used on her court gowns, and became fashionable. There are two distinct areas of England where lacemaking was a significant industry: Devon and part of the South Midlands. This may be the origin of the lacemaker's holiday, Cattern's Day. On this day (25 or 26 November) lacemakers were given a day off from work, and Cattern cakes small dough cakes made with caraway seeds, were used to celebrate. The English diarist Samuel Pepys often wrote about the lace used for his, his wife's, and his acquaintances' clothing, and on 10 May 1669, noted that he intended to remove the gold lace from the sleeves of his coat "as it is fit [he] should", possibly in order to avoid charges of ostentatious living. In 1840, Britain's Queen Victoria was married in lace, influencing the wedding dress style until now. The decline of the lace industry in England began about 1780, as was happening elsewhere. Some of the reasons include the increased popularity of clothing in the Classical style, the economic issues connected to war, and the increased production and use of machine made laces. Lacemaking was being taught in boarding schools by the mid 1700s, and newspaper advertisements starting in the early 1700s offered to teach the technique. Machines to make lace began to be smuggled into the country in the early 1800s, as England did not permit these machines to be exported. The first lacemaking factory opened in Medway, Massachusetts in 1818. Ipswich had its own in 1824. The women there moved from making bobbin lace to decorating the machine made net lace with darning and tambour stitches, creating what is known as Limerick lace. Sibyl Carter, an Episcopalian missionary, began to teach lacemaking to Ojibwa women in Minnesota in 1890. Classes were being held for members of many tribes throughout the US by the first decade of the 1900s

Lace was made in Ireland from the 1730s onwards with several different lace making schools founded across the country. Many regions acquired a name for high quality work and others developed a distinctive style. Lace proved to be an important means of income for many poorer women. Several important schools of lace included: Carrickmacross lace, Kenmare lace, Limerick lace and Youghal lace.

The earliest portraits showing lace are those of the early Florentine School. Later, in the 17th century, lace was very popular and painting styles were at the time realistic. This allows viewers to see the finery of lace. Painted portraits, primarily those of the wealthy or the nobility, depicted costly laces. This presented a challenge to the painters, who needed to represent not only their sitters accurately, but their intricate lace as well. An image of an anonymous female artisan appears in The Lacemaker, a painting by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675), completed around 1669–1670.