"Point d'Alençon"

Think you have an 

Alençon Lace tablecloth?

You may want to think again.

History of Alençon Lace

Alençon lace, known as “the Queen of laces and a lace for Queens“,  is the most elaborate needle-point lace ever produced in France.  It traces its origins to 1665, when Louis XIV determined to improve the quality of French lace in order to keep in the country the enormous sums then being spent on Italian and Flemish laces by members of his court.

Alençon lace is handmade, only, in Alençon, Normandy, France. 

Alençon Lace Technique

The Alençon lace technique takes 4 years of apprenticeship and about the same again to master it completely. The method of production is extremely labour intensive, taking 7 hours to produce one square centimetre of lace, but it allows for extremely fine and sophisticated designs. Source

In 1976, the Point d’Alencon National Workshop was created by the State to preserve the lace needlepoint traditions in the town.  Today the workshop houses a small group who keep alive this unique skill, mainly producing pieces of needlework destined for great state-owned properties.

UNESCO recognised the exceptional quality of Alençon lace by adding it to the "Representative List of the Cultural Heritage of Humanity".  In its announcement the UNESCO committee said "Alençon needle lace is unusual because of the high level of craftsmanship required and the very long time that it
takes to produce (seven hours per square centimetre).”

There is a permanent exhibition of Alençon lace and exhibits showing how it is made in the Musée des Beaux 

Arts Te de la Dentelle in the Alençon town centre.

The public can also visit the adjoining  lace-making workshops on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in summer, or groups by appointment throughout the year.


Small samples of the lace can be bought from the museum shop for a price – about 500 euro!

Beware of imitations!!

You’ll find plenty of suppliers offering what they claim to be “Alençon Lace” and wedding gowns supposedly trimmed in Alençon lace.

With very few exceptions, most of this is NOT genuine Alençon lace.  It, sometimes, comes from China and is often cheap, machine made imitations that bears only a superficial resemblance to the real thing.  When it is available to order by the yard, or the dresses cost just a few hundred dollars, this gives the game away – new Alençon lace costs several hundred dollars per square inch!

Ouch – Why is real Alençon lace so expensive? Mainly because it takes eight years of training to master the Point d’Alençon technique and 25 hours of labour to produce a finished piece of Alençon lace the size of a French postage stamp (2.5cm by 2cm, less than a square inch).  The end result is stunning and can’t be matched by any machine made lace.

Faux (fake) EBay example:
Vintage Large Alencon Lace Tablecloth New Never Used  I didn't know whether to laugh or regurgitate!

Now that we know about the REAL DEAL, let me show you my beautiful Alençon "style"tablecloth. This lace is often described as "French" lace.  

         My cloth is NOT Alençon Lace!

These machine made lace tablecloths 
should legally be called

Alençon "Style" Lace. 
That is because they are made in the "style" of the handmade Alençon lace.

Some are expensive, some are not. The machine made cloths come in varying qualities. These can be very beautiful but it is best to be educated and know that you are not buying REAL Alençon lace.

My tablecloth is vintage. In fact, I have had it for more than twenty five years. I used it on an large extension table that I used in a previous home. It was too large for my table here and had been packed away.

My cloth is machine made with hand adornment.

This table cloth was definitely not inexpensive but some are pricier. While very beautiful, "French" lace can fetch prices into the thousands and still not be Alençon lace. I love my cloth, it makes for a beautiful table and it has been in a drawer for too many years. So out it comes!

I was trying to think of a tablecloth to use with this thrifty find when I thought of this jewel, packed away.

For colored under cloths I use (extra long) twin sheets. I often have to trim one long side, then finish with a narrow hem. You can always find twin sheets on sale for very little. You can see the blue coming through the tablecloth below.

It is not necessary to have the linens of Royalty to set a pretty table. Just make sure you know what you are buying then enjoy! Um mm, don't pack it away in a drawer.

Resources for this post:

Visit Normandy-Pays de la Loire

http://www.normandie-chambres.co.uk/alencon.html

Look for the tablescape this week!

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