Lace

© Michel Vaerewijck

The lace trade rose during the early Renaissance. Emperor Charles V decreed that lace-making should be a compulsory skill for girls in convents and beguinages throughout Flanders. Lace became fashionable on collars and cuffs for both sexes. Trade reached a peak in the 18th century Lace makers were traditionally women. Hundreds of craftswomen still work in Bruges and Brussels, centers of bobbin lace, creating intricate work by hand and often using over 100 threads per bobbin. Belgian lace is bought today mainly as a souvenir, but despite the rise in machine-made lace from other countries, the quality here still remains as fine as it was during the Renaissance.

© Michel Vaerewijck

Lace also has its place in museums. Situated close to the Grand Place, the Musee du Costume et de la Dentelle (Museum of Costume & Lace) has a permanent collection of fine lace. Displayed in subdued lighting and safely laid out in drawers, this beautiful collection contains pieces made on the spindle and with needles, not only from Brussels but also from France and Italy. The bourgeois costumes the lace was made for are also on show in thematic exhibits.

Costume and Lace Museum

rue de la Violette 12, 1000 Brussels

+31 2 213 44 50 Two 18th century gabled houses have had their interiors redesigned to accommodate the museum with the strongest local flavor; a place devoted to lace, embroidery, costume and high fashion.

www.brussels.be/artdet.cfm?id=4201

Lace Centre Bruges

 Peperstraat 3A, 8000 Bruges

+32 50 33 00 72

Lace Centre Bruges is a non-profit association where you can learn all about handmade lace. They organize workshops and sell sell anything related to lace : books, magazines any working material and of course the handmade lace work itself.  

www.kantcentrum.com

MIAT – Museum of Industrial Archaeology and Textile Ghent

Minnemeers 9, 9000 Gent

+32 9 269 42 00

The MIAT (Museum of Industrial Archaeology and Textile) is a unique museum that focuses mainly on the fundamental technological changes in our society during the last 250 years.In this old cotton mill, the visitor is submerged in a story of textiles and socio-cultural (r)evolutions www.miat.gent.be/

Flax Museum Etienne

Sabbelaan 4, 8500 Kortrijk

+32 56 21 01 38

This museum relates the evolution of flax cultivation, treatment and processing in Flanders. You discover a unique collection of lace, linen and damask.

 www.kortrijk.be/english