The plain ground is styled in French entoilage, on account of its containing the flower or ornament, which is called toilé, from the flat close texture resembling linen, and also from its being often made of that material or of muslin.
| Fig. 13. | Fig. 14. |
| Passement au Fuseau.—(Mignerak, 1605.) | Passement au Fuseau.—(Vinciolo, Edition 1623.) |
The honeycomb network or ground, in French fond, champ,[[89]] réseau, treille, is of various kinds: wire ground, Brussels ground, trolly ground, etc., fond clair, fond double, etc.
Some laces, points and guipures are not worked upon a ground; the flowers are connected by irregular threads overcast (buttonhole stitch), and sometimes worked over with pearl loops (picot). Such are the points of Venice and Spain and most of the guipures. To these uniting threads, called by our lace-makers "pearl ties"—old Randle Holme[[90]] styles them "coxcombs"—the Italians give the name of "legs," the French that of "brides."[[91]]
| Fig. 15. | Fig. 16. |
| Passement au Fuseau.—(Vinciolo, Edition 1623.) | Merletti a Piombini.—(Parasole, 1616.) |
The flower, or ornamental pattern, is either made together with the ground, as in Valenciennes or Mechlin, or separately, and then either worked in or sewn on (appliqué), as in Brussels.
The open-work stitches introduced into the pattern are called modes, jours; by our Devonshire workers, "fillings."
All lace is terminated by two edges, the pearl, picot,[[92]] or couronne—a row of little points at equal distances, and the footing or engrêlure—a narrow lace, which serves to keep the stitches of the ground firm, and to sew the lace to the garment upon which it is to be worn.
Lace is divided into point and pillow (or more correctly bobbin) lace. The term pillow gives rise to misconceptions, as it is impossible to define the distinction between the "cushion" used for some needle-laces and the "pillow" of bobbin-lace. The first is made by the needle on a parchment pattern, and termed needle-point, point à l'aiguille, punto in aco.
The word is sometimes incorrectly applied to pillow-lace, as point de Malines, point de Valenciennes, etc.