The name 'crochet' is derived from the French word
'croc' meaning 'hook'. Irish crochet was probably the most perfect and beautiful of all hand-made crochet lace. By the mid-19th century it was an established industry, and was widely taught in convent schools to the children of the poor. Padding is used in many designs to make certain motifs stand out in bold relief, resembling Venetian needlelaces. The motifs were worked separately and joined later with dainty fillings, and consisted of shamrocks, leaf sprays, roses, wheels, daises, bells and bunches of grapes.
Hairpin crochet is a type of
crochet worked with a two-pronged fork, or hairpin, and a
crochet hook. Yarn is wound round the prongs of the hairpin to
form a series of large loops held together by a row of crochet
stitches worked in the centre, called the spine. The strips so
produced are then joined together, also with a crochet hook.
Flanders
Lace 
Both needle and bobbin laces were made in
Flanders from the early 17th century. The best threads were
available, enabling the manufacture of very fine lace of the
highest and most expensive quality. Laces such as Mechlin,
Valenciennes and Brussels were bought and worn by royalty and
the nobility.
The Flanders laces were complex and very difficult to produce, using many hundreds of unspangled bobbins. As well as those named above, other Flanders laces were Binche, Antwerp, Point d'Angleterre, Bruges, and Rosaline.
The
term modern Flanders is more usually applied to a late 19th
century revival of the cinq trous grounded lace.
This revival was paralleled by a revival of Binche lace.
Honiton Lace
Honiton is a non-continuous bobbin lace that takes
its name from the town in which it was first made, dating back
to the reign of Elizabeth I. It continued to flourish
until the early 19th century but being labour intensive it has
declined since then. However, some of the finest Honiton, or any
other laces ever made, were shown at the International
Exhibitions of 1851 and 1862.
Honiton has continued to be made for royalty, Queen Victoria in particular, until the present day. Honiton lace jabot and cuffs designed by Pat Perryman, were presented to the Speaker of the House of Commons in 1984, and are part of the Speaker's official regalia on state occasions.
Traditionally Honiton lace was made in
white or ecru cotton, and occasionally black silk (as cotton
would not take the dye, usually ending up brown). The thread
used to work Honiton is very fine, 120 to180/2 count. In the
past even finer threads, up to 200 count, were used.
Honiton lace draws from nature (eg the hedgerows of Devon)
in a stylised manner, expressing the subject in a lace form.
ABC(2) — Carrickmacross,
Charted Bobbin Lace, Cluny
ABC(4) — Knitted Lace, Needle Lace, Point
Ground
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