Hairpin Lace

Lately I have been working on Hairpin Lace, a project for an upcoming magazine, so I feel I cannot reveal all of it. So it got me thinking about it's history. Google did not offer much in the way of a conclusive answer, however I did find this interesting Snippet....

...from 'Smart Crochet' magazine... "Katherine of Aragon (1485-1536) is given credit for inventing hairpin lace. Through the years it has been known by various names- "Kat Stitch", "French or Wire Ground" and "Six Pointed Star Ground".

Then I came across some much later reference for inventors applying for patents for Hairpin Lace Tools/Loom, both Americans one in 1948, and one in 1952. Now I am not one for all this legal jargon, I rather craft, but they look rather similar and both still very Hairpin looking! They also look rather similar to the image in the DMC 'Encyclopaedia of Needlecraft' (1884). All I know is it must have been a tough gig to be an inventor over the last couple of centuries. So thank you to the 'inventors' or rather the 'improvers of tools' for the improvements that make life so much easier for the crafters now.

While I have a set of Vintage Hairpin Lace tools in various sizes (and all very small too) ,my go to tool is the 'Clover' brand tool. Which total comes apart (the best improvement of all), thus making if very easy to use and to make very long lengths that can be threaded onto yarn to keep if neat and ready the next step!

There are some amazing designs using the lace made with the hairpin, and many are not for the faint hearted, however simple designs look amazing too, so give it a go!