A machine made length of lace trim which is off-white in colour, the delicate design features a six-petalled flower with a zigzag motif and a scalloped picot edge. Close inspection reveals subtle picots in the square net to achieve shading. One can imagine how feminine a woman would feel with this lace adorning her garments, possibly at the neck and cuffs of an afternoon dress or as an edging on a petticoat or nightgown. By the mid 19th century, machine made lace had improved so much that it was used by the couture houses on fashionable garments and the handmade lace makers countered by broadening the scope of their lace and marketing it as ‘real’ lace. By the end of the 19th century machines could make perfect copies of any handmade lace.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929machine made off-white length of lace trim with zig-zag and flower motif and scalloped picot edge.churchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess

These pieces replicate bobbin lace as can be seen by the fine knots in the diamond shaped net ground and the gimp or outline has been given the appearance of being tamboured in a fine chain stitch. These cotton lace pieces have been cut from a larger piece which by shape and size appear to have been intended for a collar. They are machine made and very likely were woven on a Leavers machine with the chain stitch outline being added by a Bonnaz/Cornely machine. The Leavers machine, once coupled with the French Jacquard machine in the late 1830s, made excellent copies of any handmade lace which could be reproduced much more cheaply and much faster than the time consuming handmade laces. The Jacquard machine was invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard and was first demonstrated in 1801. It worked by threading a series of interlaced punched cards through the machine with each row of holes in the cards corresponding to a row in a textile design. The Jacquard loom influenced the future development of computer technology and its attachment to the Leavers net making machine opened the ability to recreate countless varieties of formerly handmade lace.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929Two triangles of lace cut from a larger piece, machine made, floral and leaf decorationchurchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess

This machine made net (76cm x 38) is trimmed on the edge with a tamboured design in the style of Limerick lace. Machines were so proficient in copying handmade lace that it is very difficult to tell if the trim is done by hand or by machine. Tambour lace was the earliest form of Limerick lace and was worked in chain stitch onto machine made net using a very fine crochet hook, so fine in fact that some practitioners used a sewing needle with the eye cut out and the pointed end inserted into a wooden handle.The lace industry in Limerick was started by Charles Walker in 1829 Many Irish women who learned the craft worked from home but Walker knew that he would get more consistent and cleaner work if he could oversee the work being done so he built a factory for the women. Limerick lace lost popularity after Walker died in 1842 but was revived in the late 1880s and continued to be made into the 20th century but never reached the heights of the Walker period. If this pattern is machine made it would have been made using a Bonnaz machine which was later called a Cornely machine. Antoine Bonnaz (1836 – 1915), a silk machine engineer, produced the first successful industrial chain stitch machine. His patent was finally acquired by Ercole Cornely in Paris who developed a hook shaped needle that could make a line of chain stitches. Initially these machines were only available in northern France but they were so popular that they were eventually exported to the rest of the world and are still being produced today. This lace edging is quite fine and would only be about a centimetre in width and so would be subtle in effect, perhaps to be used on undergarments or as a fichu for day wear.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was added to and refined over the course of three successive generations of women.Machine made net, trimmed with tamboured design in style of Limerick lace.Note in package "LIMERICK LACE TRIMMINGS"lace, janet amess lace collection, churchill island, amess

This is a beautiful example of Irish crochet lace edging featuring the Clones knot which gives the picot appearance on the bars. Clones knots are made by twisting the crochet hook backwards and forwards many times and working into the same stitch then pulling a loop through and fastening it at the beginning of the knot. Irish crochet comes in many forms and at first glance this lace looks like a bobbin made torchon lace. It is very fine and the thread used is most likely a No. 60 cotton or finer. Being handmade this lace would have been quite expensive and the owner would have wanted it to be seen.Churchill Island has a large lace collection, which was added to by three successive generations of the Amess family - Jane, Janet, and Unity. The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. Jane was wife of Samuel Amess, who was the first Samuel Amess to own Churchill Island. The examples of lace are notable for their variety, and provide representative examples of techniques from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries.length of handmade lace, with reinforced edges and a repeating, abstract motif reminiscent of buds.churchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess

This piece is a filet lace with a hand darned pattern on machine net and embroidered for ribbon to be threaded through the reverse to highlight the design. It is also known as beading lace which is most commonly used in lingerie. Filet lace is a form of decorative knotted netting and as such can be presumed to have derived from fishnet and is similarly made using a shuttle-needle and a gauge stick or rod although this one has been made on a machine. In 1812, the first net-making machine was invented and was in commercial use by 1820. There are pre-made nets available on the market today but there are different types of net, some made especially for filet. The hand darning would have been made by anchoring the netting and using a long blunt needle and thread. Wider pieces of filet with hand embroidery were commonly used to trim clerical vestments.Churchill Island has a large lace collection, which was added to by three successive generations of the Amess family - Jane, Janet, and Unity. The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. Jane was wife of Samuel Amess, who was the first Samuel Amess to own Churchill Island. The examples of lace are notable for their variety, and provide respresentative examples of techniques from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. Filet hand darned pattern on machine net in repeating noughts and crosses geometric motifs.lace, churchill island, janet amess lace collection, amess

At just 20.6cm in lace length and 27.5cm wide, this section of Torchon machine made lace is quite possibly a sampler for future purchases being a mixture of edging and insertion pieces. Torchon lace is a bobbin lace which is coarse and strong and was made all over Europe a characteristic of which was that the design and the ground were made in one continuous piece as opposed to motifs joined by brides. In 1809 John Heathcoat created a machine made net which didn’t unravel when cut and by 1870 every type of hand made lace had a machine made copy. Hand made lace as an industry virtually disappeared by 1900 and these machine made pieces were comparatively cheap.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was owned and contributed to by four generations of Amess women.Cheap Torchon machine lace Packaged with note: "Scraps of lace found jumbled with this collection"janet amess lace collection, lace, churchill island, amess

This is a lovely length of machine made lace trim which combines broderie anglaise diamonds with a subtle embroidered design. It is an insertion trim which would provide an understated embellishment to undergarments, bed linen, children’s clothing and is particularly suited for use on mob caps and aprons. Broderie anglaise patterns and techniques were copied by St Gallen embroidery machines from the 1870s onwards.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was owned and contributed to by four generations of Amess women.machine length of lace trim with recurring diamond patternsLabel stuck on one end "4 1/2"janet amess lace collection, lace, churchill island, amess

This is quite a wide machine embroidered lace and could be used to embellish home wear such as a fichu or an apron. It could also be used for bed linen, undergarments or nightwear. It appears to be cotton or possibly linen with a scalloped edge and broderie anglaise style designs included sparingly. On occasion, it was used as an edging over the mantlepiece to shield the stove's heat and steam from the cook's face and protect items on the shelf.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was owned and contributed to by four generations of Amess women,.Machine embroidered scalloped edge lace with small embroidered patterns of acorns.janet amess lace collection, lace, churchill island, amess

This unusual lace is a chemical lace most likely produced on a Schiffli machine. Chemical lace which is sometimes referred to as Schiffli lace is a form of machine made lace. The design is embroidered on to a sacrificial fabric which has been treated to disintegrate or dissolve away leaving the delicate pattern seen here. This design is somewhat like a miniature Tudor design and is quite delicate and decorative. Schiffli machines came into use in the late 19th century and nowadays the lace is made on a multi head or multi needle Schiffli machine. The pattern is designed to form a series of interlocking threads that can stand alone when the sacrificial fabric has been removed. This lace would make an elegant edging to a collar or cuffs among many other uses.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was owned and contributed to by four generations of Amess women.Chemical lace in a miniature Tudor stylejanet amess lace collection, lace, churchill island, chemical

This piece is a beautifully preserved machine made copy of Valenciennes style lace as can be seen from the diamond shaped ground. This would have been made on the Barmen machine which was developed in the 1890s in Germany from a braiding machine. Its bobbins imitate the movements of the bobbins of the hand-made lace maker and it makes perfect copies of the simpler hand-made laces. It can only make one width at a time and does not have the pattern potential of the Leavers machine. Valenciennes was a lace making town on the French- Flemish border which in 1780 had 4000 lace makers but due to the revolution of 1789 the number was reduced to 250. It was initially Flemish but was claimed by the French, however the centre for Valenciennes lace eventually diverted back to Ghent and Ypres in Belgium. Due to its lightness and neatness Valenciennes lace, although very expensive was simpler to produce than Mechlin lace, and was never used for expensive garments. Instead it was applied to bed linen, lingerie, and the fichu (a woman's scarf wrapped over the shoulders and fastened in front).This lace was favoured by Queen Victoria, the Empress Eugenie and others as a trim on undergarments. The basic undergarments were stays, shift (smock, chemise or shirt), petticoat and drawers although drawers were not in general use until the mid-19th century when the tendency of the fashionable crinoline to become airborne or to tilt itself at embarrassing angles made a covering garment for the nether regions essential. Drawers were just two cylinders for the legs, joined at the waist with the lower ends frilled or trimmed with lace.Churchill Island has a large lace collection, which was added to by three successive generations of the Amess family - Jane, Janet, and Unity. The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. Jane was wife of Samuel Amess, who was the first Samuel Amess to own Churchill Island. The examples of lace are notable for their variety, and provide representative examples of techniques from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. Machine made Valenciennes lace with diamond groundjanet amess lace collection, lace, churchill island, machine

This is a broad (6.5cm) machine made lace with an undulating garland pattern for a length of 93cm. Lace was always an expensive luxury item and was time consuming in its manufacture. With the advent of machine made net in 1809 and the eventual development of more detailed machine made lace, which by 1870 could imitate all types of handmade lace, it could be made much more quickly and in larger quantities and was therefore cheaper and more accessible to everyone. This piece resembles a fine needlepoint lace such as Alençon. The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929 Broad machine made lace trim with wavy patternchurchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess, trim

A machine made lace trim with a straight upper edge, the pattern being a repetition of spiders and fans this 133cm length is quite wide and luxurious at 6.7cm width. Although machine made, it is a fine copy of a handmade torchon bobbin lace, although slightly wider than the traditional torchon..The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was owned and contributed to by four generations of Amess women, see above. machine made lace trim, straight upper edge, picots along bottom edgechurchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess, trim

This is a machine made lace trim which as been made to look handmade. It measures 4.6cm by 253cm and is quite an unusual design which gives the fabric of the lace a slight elasticity. It was most likely used as a trim for an undergarment such as a petticoat, pantaloons or for a comfortable nightgown. The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929 The names of the Amess women who owned the lace are: Jane Amess (nee Straughan) – donor Unity’s great grandmother (pet name Janet, but not used as it will confuse with Unity’s mother). Jane was the wife of Samuel Amess, first Samuel Amess to own Churchill Island. Frances Amess (nee Turnbull) – grandmother, married Robert Lisle Straughan Amess, 4th child of Samuel and Jane Janet Jickell (nee Amess) – mother, 2nd of two children of Robert and Francis, married James Jickell Unity Mary Bright (nee Jickell) was the donor, 2nd of two children of Robert and Francis. machine made lace trim made to look hand made. Slight elasticity.churchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, trim, amess

This elegant lace is machine made with a spotted background above a floral pattern. It is reminiscent of a fine needlepoint lace. This type of lace remained popular into the 20th century being used mainly to decorate women’s clothing. Due to its open appearance it was used to embellish and be worn over clothing of a different colour.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929Machine made lace with spotted and floral patternchurchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, trim, amess

Torchon lace, also known as ‘beggars’ lace is one of the simplest forms of bobbin lace. This lace trim length (3cm x 65cm) which was hand made, is off-white in colour. The thread used is thicker than that used on the finer needlepoint laces and was originally worked in linen although cotton was also used. Due to its strength and softness it was favoured to be used as a trim on undergarments.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929length of lace trim, off-white colour; hand-made Torchon (duster) lace; used on underwearchurchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess, trim

This is a length of machine made lace trim (7.6 x 293cm). The body of the lace having no outline on the floral part is Valenciennes in style but with the hexagonal net and outline on the square pattern is Mechlin in nature. It is a fine example of a machine made lace which was very popular and sought after in the late 19th century as a preferred summer lace at the royal courts of Europe.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929Length of lace trim with two straight selvage edges, floral pattern interspersed with squares. Machine madechurchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, trim, amess

Here we have a generous length of a bobbin lace (2.5 x 298cm). Half of the lace next to the selvedge is diamond shaped net with spiders interspersed at regular intervals while the top edge alternates between crosses and a segmented citrus design reminiscent of Valenciennes lace. It was finished with a delicate scalloped edge. This style of lace was never used for fashionable clothing but was suitable for bed linen, lingerie and the fichu (the outer scarf worn over a woman’s shoulders)The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929length of white lace, Half pattern is net, other half is alternate four petal flowers and six petal flowers. Scalloped edge.churchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess, trim

Another example of a machine made lace, this delicate white lace trim with a beautiful undulating pattern on a diamond net background and richly scalloped edge. At 2.4cm in width it is quite a narrow and dainty lace and would have been suitable for a baby’s or a child’s garment or for enhancing nightwear, lingerie or bed linen.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929Length white lace trim with selvaged and scalloped edge with picots at outer edge. Undulating pattern on net ground. Machine made.churchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, trim, amess

A broad and luxurious lace this length would be a beautiful trim on a lady’s gown. It appears to be a copy of a Carrickmacross Irish lace where - when handmade - the motifs are embroidered onto a muslin and net sandwich and the excess muslin is cut away. This 142.5cm length however is machine made and was very likely made on a Leavers machine which was another adaptation from John Heathcoat’s machine with the Jacquard patterning device being adapted to it in the 1830s. It was developed by John Levers in Nottingham but the ‘a’ was added to the name for ease of pronunciation in France. The Leavers machine is one of the most versatile of all machines for making patterned lace and Leavers lace was Nottingham’s chief lace product until recently.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929Length of lace trim with scalloped edge and straight selvage edge, floral design on net ground. Machine madechurchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, trim, amess

At 9cm in width this delicately patterned length of light lace trim seems ideally suited to trimming a baby’s christening gown or a cradle. This embroidered style of lace was rarely used on fashionable garments but more widely used on bed linen and undergarments and judging by the creases in the lace, it is possibly made of silk which would have made it very expensive. There were two types of embroidery machines, the earliest was the Hand Embroidery machine invented by Joshua Heilman in France in 1828. It makes a perfect copy of hand embroidery except that all of the pattern repeats are exactly the same. The second type and the most likely to have been used for this piece is the Schiffli Embroidery machine Invented by Isaac Groebli in 1865 in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The first machines were relatively small and could be operated by a couple of people, mostly women but by the beginning of the 21st century they could be up to 18 metres in length and work with over a thousand needles. Most machine embroidered laces are made using the Schiffli machine and Nottingham in England, Plauen in Germany and St. Gallen in Switzerland still produce a great deal of embroidered lace.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929Length of wide lace trim with dots on net ground and selvage edge, other edge complex scallop. Machine madechurchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, trim, amess

This is an example of machine made Torchon lace which is the simplest form of bobbin lace and is also known as Beggars lace; the Dutch call it Stropkant. The thread used is thicker than embroidered laces and was originally worked with linen thread but is now made of cotton. Due to it being relatively less expensive than other laces and its softness, Torchon lace was used mainly by the middle classes as an insert on nightcaps and nightgowns and as a trim on bed linen as well as undergarments. Torchon is usually the first type of lace that a lace maker learns, but since at least the earliest 20th century commercial quantities have been made by machine and were virtually indistinguishable from those that were handmade. This example would have been made on a Barmen machine which was developed in the 1890s in Germany from a braiding machine. Its bobbins imitate the movement of the bobbins of a handmade lace maker and it makes perfect copies of Torchon and the simpler hand-made laces. It can only make one width at a time and does not have the pattern potential of the Leavers machine.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929length of lace, machine made, geometric design with two selvaged edges, repeat motif of ovals surrounded by crosses.churchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess, torchon

This is a machine made lace made in the fashion of Mechlin lace - one of the best known Flemish laces. Original Mechlin lace is a bobbin lace, where the ground and the pattern are made with the same threads and the outline is picked out in fine silk. Close inspection of this lace section indicates that the net ground is hexagonal with two sides plaited and the other four are twisted. The Leavers machine was capable of producing this elegant section of lace trim. From 1841, this machine was developed to make the ground, the pattern and the outline at the same time. The working thread bobbins would be wound with a fine cotton or silk and the outline bobbins would be wound with a heavier linen thread or a heavier silk. It would be used as a delicate trim on light summer clothes, perhaps a blouse, a summery dress, to trim a parasol or perhaps to trim an elegant evening gown on which the colour of the gown would show through the fine lace.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was added to and refined over the course of three successive generations of women.Michelin lace - hexagonal net ground with two sides plaited and the other four are twisted. churchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, trim, amess

This is a length of Leavers machine made lace trim (7.6 x 42cm). The body of the lace having no outline on the floral part is Valenciennes in style but with the hexagonal net and outline on the square pattern is Mechlin in nature. It is a fine example of a machine made lace which was very popular and sought after in the late 19th century as a preferred summer lace at the royal courts of Europe.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was added to and refined over the course of three successive generations of women.Length of lace trim, with repeating floral and geometric designs. Shorter section, appears to have been cut from a longer length.lace, janet amess lace collection, trim, amess, churchill island

Here we have a delicate example of chemical lace which is 7.6cm x 48cm. This is an interesting method of lace making where the lace is embroidered onto a sacrificial fabric which has been treated (initially chemically treated) to dissolve in a chemical solution on completion without damaging the lace. The chemicals used were not environmentally friendly and consequently this method of lace making has developed to use water soluble base fabrics or fabrics which will disintegrate with the application of heat. A remnant of the sacrificial fabric can be seen on the top of this piece. Originally chemical lace was made on a home embroidery machine but is now also known as Schiffli Lace and made on a Schiffli machine. This machine was invented by Isaak Grobli in 1863 using the same principles as the newly invented sewing machine except that the bobbin of the sewing machine was replaced by a shuttle shaped like the hull of a sail boat, hence the name ‘schiffli’ which means ‘little boat’ in Swiss-German. The Schiffli machine uses two threads and makes a stitch similar to a closely spaced zigzag stitch on a domestic sewing machine. Over time the number of needles and shuttles increased until the present day when some machines can be up to 18 metres in length and use over a thousand needles. Previously the pattern was followed by hand using a pantograph arm where the operator followed the design pattern but the development of computer technology has meant that software designed to drive Schiffli machines can now create a wide variety of stitches and lace designs. The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was owned and contributed to by three generations of Amess women - Jane, Janet and Unity (Bright - donor). Jane was wife of Samuel Amess, first Samuel Amess to own Churchill Island.Length of lace trimPackage contains note: FICCHU c1860/70 (hand made) [not associated with this item]churchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess, trim

This is a machine made copy of a Brussels lace applique or Brussels Point border which has most likely been cut from a larger piece, perhaps a wedding veil or a net for a baby’s cradle. There are two main types under the Brussels lace heading, one is Brussels Pillow lace which is a bobbin lace and the other is Brussels Point lace which is needle run. Belgium or Flanders was one of the premium lace making centres in Europe for two reasons, one that the flax grown in the region was of a very high quality and secondly the highly skilled lace workers living in the area. The flax harvest and linen production was jealously guarded and along with neighbouring Holland which in the 16th century was joined to Belgium as Spanish Netherlands, there were many flat areas to lay out the linen for bleaching in the sun. The flax was spun into the finest linen thread in rooms kept damp to prevent the thread from becoming too brittle and the one ray of sunlight allowed was directed onto the thread. The quality of the linen made Brussels lace extremely popular for centuries and it kept pace with the changing fashions of Europe. Not all of the lace labelled as ‘Brussels’ comes from that area, the name has been given as a type rather than a source and there are many types of lace under that name. Because of the quality and the standard of the linen used, Belgian lace was one of the last types of lace to be imitated in the 19th century by mass production machinery. Because of the close chain stitch evident in this piece, a Cornelly machine may have been used to embroider this design onto machine made net.Churchill Island has a large lace collection, which was added to by three successive generations of the Amess family - Jane, Janet, and Unity. The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. Jane was wife of Samuel Amess, who was the first Samuel Amess to own Churchill Island. The examples of lace are notable for their variety, and provide respresentative examples of techniques from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. Length of lace trim, with finely worked sprays of flowers intertwined with foliage and abstracted branches.Package with note "LIMERICK LACE TRIMMINGS"lace, janet amess lace collection, churchill island, amess, trim

This lace front is another example of Pusher lace using matte black silk called grenadine. The head opening has yet to be cut out and the panel itself was most likely made for a specific garment possibly in a contrasting paler colour to show off the leafy pattern The Pusher machine is a variation of Heathcoat’s Bobbinet machine and was so called for the rods which pushed the carriages through the machine. There appears to be an outline on the leaves which would have had to be worked either by hand or by embroidery machine.Churchill Island has a large lace collection, which was added to by three successive generations of the Amess family - Jane, Janet, and Unity. The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. Jane was wife of Samuel Amess, who was the first Samuel Amess to own Churchill Island. The examples of lace are notable for their variety, and provide respresentative examples of techniques from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. Rectangular section of lace with intricate leaf design and a matte circular section. Designs are reinforced with multiple layers of stitching.Packaged with note: "Black lace "Front" with neckline hole"churchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess, machine

This length of machine made lace could only be made on either the Raschel or the Leavers machine, however the Raschel only produced an hexagonal ground, therefore we must lean towards the Leavers machine. The pattern in the piece is a copy of a bobbin lace with a plaited octagonal ground. The Leavers machine could reproduce all sorts of grounds, it was very versatile and operated from the mid 19th century until the present day. This lace is quite fine and would look lovely as a trim on a fichu or mob cap.Churchill Island has a large lace collection, which was added to by three successive generations of the Amess family - Jane, Janet, and Unity. The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. Jane was wife of Samuel Amess, who was the first Samuel Amess to own Churchill Island. The examples of lace are notable for their variety, and provide representative examples of techniques from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries.length of machine lace with repeating 'spoked wheel' designs, trimmed on one side with a scalloped edgechurchill island, lace, janet amess lace collection, amess, machine

This lace appears to be a beautiful product of the Leavers lace making machine. It is Valenciennes in style which is a bobbin lace characterized by the diamond shaped net. Unlike comparable Mechlin lace it does not have a gimp thread outlining the pattern. Valenciennes lace originated in France but perhaps due to religious persecution later moved to Ypres in Belgium and was very popular in the 18th century. It was simpler to produce than Mechlin lace and was never used on expensive garments but reserved for bed linen, lingerie and the fichu. By the 19th century it was made by machine which made it cheaper and even more accessible.Churchill Island has a large lace collection, which was added to by three successive generations of the Amess family - Jane, Janet, and Unity. The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. Jane was wife of Samuel Amess, who was the first Samuel Amess to own Churchill Island. The examples of lace are notable for their variety, and provide representative examples of techniques from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. Machine made Valenciennes lace with a floral design on a fine mesh background, and one scalloped edge.lace, churchill island, janet amess lace collection, amess, machine

This narrow (3.3cm) piece may have been used to embellish the bodice or the waistline of a garment. Chemical lace is a late 19th century form of machine lace made by embroidering the lace pattern onto a sacrificial fabric which has been chemically treated to dissolve when immersed in a solution which will not harm the lace. However, the composition of the solution was not environmentally friendly so this method of lace making has all but disappeared in many countries. Chemical lace can be distinguished from needle lace by a slight fuzziness of the embroidered threadsThe Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was owned and contributed to by four generations of Amess women, see above.Narrow length of chemical lace janet amess lace collection, lace, churchill island, chemical, amess

These circles are just 7cm in diameter and are beautifully executed fine crochet work. In the late 1800s, well-bred ladies learned needlecrafts from a very early age and it is quite possible that these circles were made by a member of the Amess family.The Amess family owned Churchill Island from 1872 to 1929. This lace collection was owned and contributed to by four generations of Amess women.Small set of hand crochet circles in an abstract designcrochet, churchill island, janet amess lace collection, amess, lace