The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-06-29
LADIES, BEADING.
Costly Fabrics at the Exposition.

.f1t PARIS, May %, 1867.
How very few of all who admire lace
can form an idea of the labor it costs
to produce complete set without flaw,
either in the texture or in the design.
Many who wear the costliest thing of
the kind do not even know the name
it goes by or where it comes from.
They only know it was very dear and
looks very nice, but they totally ig-
more how many hours have passed
over while one single leaf was being
made by emaciated girls at the rate OF
half dollar and much less per day.
The object of this series of letters on
clothing is not so much to detail all
the wonders displayed at the Champ de
Mars, as to give information on the
state of each particular industry as it
is carried on in the localities most ia
NOUS for the produce. | will, there
fore, proceed to state that there are
several distinct kinds.
Among those done by hand, we
have Alencon, guipures (Cluny), Chan
tilly, Mirocourt and Puy. The latter
are made in Auvergne Tulle, blonde,
Valenciennes, Lama, are made by
hand and by machinery Lace is
usually made in country places, vii
lagos and remote parts of the prov
inces, by peasant women, who work
on pillows, which they call sometimes
drums, or squares. Their yarn, be it
silk, cotton or thread, is wound
around spools made of lockwood; a
design is drawn on piece of paper,
covered on each outline with pins,
around which these yarns are twisted.
The rapidity with which they work is
wonderful, and to an observer they
appear to play at tossing the light
spools from side to side like so many
twinkling toys Ea{1t< IF3t1
There are two hundred thousand
women employed in this industry in
France; many earn but one franc
twenty-five confines per day. The
cleverest in the line never gain more
than three francs fifty confines for
ten hours work. They are never ex-
elusive lace makers; thus they attend
at stated hours, when the sun is cool
est. .szA4 8sGEsHs ess-k4 sF SO
French laces are sold all over the
world, and the annual produce is said
to be one hundred millions. Alepcon
is considered the most perfect lace
stitch, it is the most expensive of. all
at least. Chantilly, Bayeux and Caen
are famous for large shawls, circulars
and wide founces. Lille and Arras
produce the finest ground work. Bail
leul is the principal centre for all lace
known under the name of Valencien-
mes. In the mountainous Vosges our
newest styles are mostly executed.
| kuvergne is reputed for guipure.
Tulle is another source ofgreat wealth
to certain districts in France. Silk
net, both worked and plain, is made at
Lyons; cotton nets come from St.
Quentin. Other open nets are made
of goats hair, which yarn is woven at
Bradford (north Of England) and sent
to Lille for manufacture. Men are
employed in this department for the
working Of tulle machinery alone. 1t
is all very complicated and extremely
expensive. Embroidery is made all
over France, but gold cloth braiding
and church ornaments are chiefly
worked at Paris and Lyons. Curtains
and white tulle coverlets are embroid-
cred at Tarare.
There are more than one hundred
thousand women employed at en-
broidery in, France, nearly all in their
homes Lyons is the great market for
braiding and gimp, but the different
| cords, bobbins and twists are made in
the north of France. Gimp is also
made of straw, gold. silver and jet
40 many as thirty thousand workmen
are employed in this industry, and all
foreign manufacturers buy there new
| est models in Paris.
Some of the most lovely pieces OF
lace exhibited at the Exposition are a
shawl and robe of Venice point, a
Spanish mantilla Of Chantilly, and a
Cluny or guipure Counterpart.
Brussels has sent in some very love
ly hounces. Worked tulles are almost
paintings on cobwebs, if such things
were possible.
Some of the German embroidery
done by machinery is very good.
A very magnificent tulle robe has
been exhibited by Portugal 1t is
worked with floss and silver.
The Italian Blind and Dumb
Asylum have remarkable display of
needlework on the finest materials,
| done by the blind, among other things
a carpet on canvas and quantities OF
Roman Catholic ornaments for the
decoration of affairs