MODERN HONITON, MADE BY MRS. FOWLER.
XII
SCOTCH
AND IRISH
LACES
XII
SCOTCH AND IRISH LACES
Hamilton lace—Mary Queen of Scots—Modern lace-making in Ireland—Limerick lace—Carrick-ma-cross—Irish crotchet—Convent laces.
Scotch lace can hardly be said to exist. At one time a coarse kind of network lace called "Hamilton lace" was made, and considerable money was obtained by it, but it never had a fashion, and deservedly so. Since the introduction of machinery, however, there has been considerable trade, and a tambour lace is made for flounces, scarfs, &c. The more artistic class of work made by Scotswomen is that of embroidering fine muslin, and some really exquisite work is made by the common people in their homes.
Much mention is often made of Mary Queen of Scots and her embroideries and laces. It must be remembered that she married firstly the Dauphin of France, and while at the French Court imbibed the taste for elegant apparel and costly lace trimmings. There is no record that she ever wore lace of her own country's manufacture, and, although English writers often quote the lace made by her fair hands, really the needlework made by Queen Mary at Fotheringay was embroidery.