x. (Top) Picot
y. (Bottom) Cluny pattern
Group A.—Cluny laces demand great ingenuity in execution. The most simple are made entirely by braiding in such a way as to produce an effect of interlacing (sketch y.). The braids are formed of four threads; when the interlacing is more important they become more complicated. At times the braids group themselves to form the flat surface or toile which later will resolve again into braids. They unite and part, sometimes dividing into strands (brides) of two threads according to the lines of the design. This design should be absolutely precise. And since in it the future employment of each thread must be constantly foreseen, it is quite impossible to compose a Cluny lace pattern without a knowledge of the technique of that lace (sketch y).
z. (Top) Interpreted Torchon pattern
(Bottom) Completed lace
Sometimes the general name guipure is given to Cluny, as well as to all laces made with continuous thread which have not a mesh base.