Netted-Fabrics-art - 6/9/19

"Netted Fabrics in Period Clothing" by HL Giraude Benet, CT, CGCS.

NOTE: See also the files: netting-msg, embroidery-msg, Finger-Weavng-art, knitting-msg, macrame-msg, lace-msg, crochet-FAQ, Bobbin-Lace-art.

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NOTICE -

This article was added to this set of files, called Stefan's Florilegium, with the permission of the author. 

These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

Copyright to the contents of this file remains with the author or translator.

While the author will likely give permission for this work to be reprinted in SCA type publications, please check with the author first or check for any permissions granted at the end of this file.

Thank you,
Mark S. Harris...AKA:..Stefan li Rous
stefan at florilegium.org
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Netted Fabrics in Period Clothing
by HL Giraude Benet, CT, CGCS 
Clothier's Seminar AS XLIV Clothier's Seminar AS XLIV 


What is Netted Fabric?

Several types of lace fabrics are created on a knotted net.  These include:

•Filet or Lacis
•Mezza Mandolina

(Many other types of lace are created on net-like woven backgrounds, like Buratto, Reticella, and Drawn Work)

Filet

Filet, or darned netting, is one of the oldest forms of lace.  It consists of a plain knotted net background embellished with figures worked in various stitches, most commonly "cloth stitch," "loop stitch," and "leaf stitch."

  
Cloth Stitch                         Loop Stitch                     Leaf Stitch

Mezza Mandolina

Mezza mandolina is another type of netted fabric, but unlike filet, the pattern is formed by varying the size of the meshes in the net, or by increasing or decreasing the number of meshes.


Detail of a fragment of 16th-century mezza mandolina
(From Old Italian Laceby Elisa Ricci)

How is Netting Made?

Tools

Modern netting needle and netting shuttle The tools for making netting for lace fabrics are the same as for making a fishing net. For fine network, the thread is carried on a netting needle. The size of the meshes of the net are determined by the use of a "mesh stick," which can be any flat or round stick with a uniform thickness.


Modern netting needle and netting shuttle



Young Woman Netting, 14th Century


The basic netting knot is called the "Sheet bend"



Netting is worked from left to right, with the working thread wrapping around the mesh stick as the knotting proceeds.

Materials

Most authoritative texts on lace describe net based lace as being worked on a linen ground and embellished with darning in linen, silk, or sometimes metallic threads.

Diamond Mesh vs Square Mesh

Filet can be worked on either diamond mesh or square mesh. Square mesh is actually diamond mesh that has been shaped so that it appears to form squares.

 


Daughters of Giovanni II Bentivoglio 1488 Lorenzo Costa
(From Old Italian Lace by Elisa Ricci)

Detail



Lady with a Hare (Toledo) c. 1505 Juan de Borgoña

The lady is wearing a hood-like net over another headcovering. She is also wearing a netted partlet

Details

 


Portrait of Isabella de'Medici 1540 Agnolo Bronzino
(from Lace: a History by Santina Levey)


Eleanor of Toledo c. 1550  Agnolo Bronzino

She is wearing a partlet is of mezza mandolina. (From Old Italian Lace by Elisa Ricci)

Detail




Portrait of a Lady 1560s Agnolo Bronzino
(from Lace: a History by Santina Levey)

Detail




Queen Elizabeth I c.1575-80 (artist unknown)

She is wearing a partlet of network

Detail




Lavinia Fontana c. 1580s  Self portrait
(From Old Italian Lace by Elisa Ricci)

She is wearing a chemisette or partlet of filet or buratto.

Detail




Detail from Portrait of a noblewoman c. 1580  Francesco Montemezzano



Habiti delle donne venetiane  ca. 1591–1609  Giacomo Franco

Detail


Bibliography

Dillmont, Thérèse de. The Net Work. DMC

Earnshaw, Pat. A Dictionary of Lace. Mineola, NY: Dover, 1984.

Gwynne, Judyth L. The Illustrated Dictionary of Lace. London: B.T. Batsford, 1997.

Levey, Santina M. Lace A History. London: Leeds, 1983

Ricci, Elisa. Old Italian Lace, Vol.1. London: William Heinemann, 1913

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Copyright 2018 by Jill Sibley. <giraudebenet at hotmail.com>. Permission is granted for republication in SCA-related publications, provided the author is credited.  Addresses change, but a reasonable attempt should be made to ensure that the author is notified of the publication and if possible receives a copy.

If this article is reprinted in a publication, please place a notice in the publication that you found this article in the Florilegium. I would also appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track which articles are being reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.

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Edited by Mark S. Harris	Netted-Fabrics-art	19 of 19