Handkerchief

In the 16th century people used plain linen handkerchiefs for the same purposes they do today. Decorated handkerchiefs, however, were often purely fashionable accessories and gifts. This example has cutwork decoration. Cutwork is the earliest form of needle lace. It is based on a woven ground, from which areas have been cut away. The technique developed during the 16th century. Lacemakers cut away increasing areas of fabric to create a geometric grid of threads over which they worked their stitches. This type of advanced cutwork became very fashionable. It reached the height of technical and stylistic perfection around 1615.