Handkerchief

Handkerchiefs made of plain linen served the same function in the sixteenth century as they do today. However, if they were decorated they could also be carried purely as fashionable accessories and given as gifts.This example has whitework embroidery, worked in detached buttonhole and satin stitches, needle lace and cutwork decoration. Cutwork is the earliest form of needle lace. It is based on a woven ground, from which areas have been cut away. Elaborate cutwork was an important decoration on fashionable dress for both men and women from about 1570 to 1620.