Textile structures made from yarns extend beyond woven and knitted fabrics. Fabrics from yarns such as braids, lace, and embroidery combine aesthetic value with practical performance. Braids provide flexibility and strength; lace creates openwork patterns for decorative and apparel use; and embroidery allows yarn to be arranged in varied directions for ornamental and technical applications. Together, these structures show how yarn arrangement, construction method, and finishing determine fabric appearance, handle, and end use. In this article, I will discuss braids, lace, and embroidery and their role in textile structures.
Braids in Textiles
Braids are narrow fabrics in which yarns interlace lengthwise and diagonally, forming stable structures that may be flat, tubular, or three-dimensional. They have good elongation characteristics and are very pliable, curving around edges nicely. They are used for trims, shoelaces, and coverings on components in technical products such as wiring and fluid-carrying hoses for liquids like gasoline and water. Many ropes, cordage, and yarns are made by braiding, because the structure improves strength, cohesion, and resistance to unraveling. Sennit is a handmade braid using basketry, fibrous inner bark, or related materials. Three-dimensional braids are made with two or more sets of yarns. Their shape is controlled by an internal mandrel, which supports the braid during formation and helps produce a consistent profile.
Fig: Braids in textiles
Lace Fabric
Lace is an openwork fabric with complex patterns or figures, handmade or machine-made using several construction methods, and it is defined by its deliberate openings, delicate ground, and ornamental motifs. Most commercial lace is made using raschel knitting machines or special lace machines. Yarns may be twisted around each other to create open areas. Lace is classified according to the way it is made and its pattern or design. Lace is made as full-width fabric, narrow trim or edging, and appliqué. Some narrow-trim lace coordinates with fabric-width lace and should be identified when writing production specifications for lace products, like wedding or formal dresses. Appliqué, a relatively inexpensive decoration, is a surface embellishment that adds visual interest and texture, especially in apparel, bridal wear, and decorative interiors.
Fig: Lace fabric
It is difficult to determine the machine used to make a fine lace fabric without the aid of a microscope. Some imitation lace-like fabrics are made by printing or flocking. The quality of lace is based on the fineness of yarns, number of yarns per unit area (square inch or square centimeter) or closeness of the ground, and intricacy of the design, as well as the clarity of the pattern and overall uniformity. In fabrics from yarns such as lace, these construction details are especially important because they directly influence both appearance and durability.
Lace was important in fashion between the 16th and the 19th centuries, and many countries in Europe developed lace industries. Lace remains important today as a trim or accessory in apparel and interiors. Lace names often reflect the town in which the lace was originally made. For example, the best-quality needlepoint lace was made in Venice in the 16th century—hence the name Venetian lace. Alençon and Valenciennes laces are made in French towns, and these place names remain part of lace history today.
Types of Handmade Lace
Handmade lace remains a prestige textile. The contemporary interest in crafts is generating renewed interest in many of the older lace-making techniques. Fiber artists and small entrepreneurs are creating lace as part of the local fiber movement. Handmade lace is used for wall hangings, belts, bags, shawls, afghans, bedspreads, and tablecloths. Handmade laces include needlepoint, bobbin, crochet, and Battenberg, with each method producing a distinct texture and appearance.
Needlepoint lace is made by drawing a pattern of birds, flowers, vases, or other motifs on paper, laying down yarns over the pattern, and stitching over the yarns with needle and thread. The thread network, reseau or brides, forms the ground. The solid part of the pattern is toile, which gives the motif its body and definition.
Bobbin lace is made on a pillow. The pattern is drawn on paper and pins are inserted at various points. Yarns on bobbins are plaited around the pins to form the lace, allowing very fine and intricate designs to be developed by hand.
Crocheted lace is made by hand with a crochet hook. Many patterns and weights are possible. Examples are Irish lace and Syrian lace, both of which may range from delicate decorative motifs to denser forms.
Knit lace is made by hand in many patterns and weights. End uses include apparel, shawls, bedspreads, and interior and apparel accessories, where its flexibility and open structure are especially useful.
Battenberg lace is handmade with loops of woven tape attached by yarn brides in patterns. Making Battenberg lace was a common hobby in the United States in the early 20th century. Contemporary pieces are usually imported from Asia, especially China, for apparel and interior accessories, and are often valued for their ready-made decorative effect.
Machine-Made Lace History
In 1802 in England, Robert Brown perfected a machine that made nets on which lace motifs could be worked by hand. In 1808, John Heathcoat made the first true lace machine by developing brass bobbins to make bobbinet. In 1813, John Leavers developed a machine that made patterns and background simultaneously. An electronic system, similar to that used with jacquard looms, produces intricate designs with the Leavers machine, greatly improving productivity and repeatability.
The warp yarns and oscillating brass bobbins of the Leavers machine are set in frames called carriages. The carriages move back and forth while the bobbins swing around the warp to form a pattern. These bobbins, holding 60 to 300 yards of yarn, are thin enough to swing between adjacent warp yarns and twist themselves around one warp before moving to another yarn. The Leavers machine may have as many as 20 bobbins per inch. Tulle can also be made on a Leavers lace machine, often producing a very fine and lightweight fabric.
Leavers lace is fairly expensive, depending on the quality of yarns and the intricacy of the design. Cordonnet, or re-embroidered, lace has a yarn or cord outlining the design, which gives the motifs stronger visual emphasis.
Raschel-knitting machines make patterned laces that resemble Leavers lace. Raschel lace is produced at much higher speeds for lower cost. Filament yarns are used to make coarser laces for tablecloths, draperies, and casement fabrics, as well as other decorative and home-furnishing uses.
How to Care for Lace Fabrics
Because lace has open spaces, it can easily snag and tear. Fragile laces should be washed by hand-squeezing suds through the fabric rather than rubbing. Some laces can be put into a protective bag and machine-washed or dry-cleaned, depending on fibre content, construction, and finishing. In general, gentle handling and low-agitation cleaning help preserve shape and appearance. Hand washing in cool water with a mild detergent is usually the safest method for delicate lace.
Embroidery in Textiles
Embroidery is one of the few techniques in which yarn can be arranged in almost any direction, making it suitable for both surface decoration and structural reinforcement. While embroidery is usually considered an aesthetic or surface design, embroidery is used to create technical textiles. Some high-performance, low-mass smart textile structures using aramid, carbon, PBO, glass, and other special-use fibres are embroidered, to achieve strength with minimal added weight. A ground material of acetate or polyvinyl alcohol is used and embroidery cords, yarns, or fibres are arranged in a three-dimensional structure. Padding and shaping may help achieve the end product. The item may include shape-memory components that shrink when heated or wetted to create the 3D shape. After construction, the ground material is removed by water or solvent, and the structure is often coated with resin. Embroidered textiles are used for mechanical engineering applications, medical implants, and wound dressings, and in some cases they serve as lightweight preforms for composite structures.
Fig: Embroidery in textiles
Conclusion
Braids, lace, and embroidery are important fabrics manufactured direct from yarns with both decorative and technical value. Braids provide flexibility, strength, and shape control; lace offers openwork design in handmade and machine-made forms; and embroidery supports detailed surface decoration as well as advanced functional applications. Together, these fabrics from yarns show how yarn structure, construction method, and finishing determine appearance, performance, and end use.
Founder & Editor of Textile Learner. He is a Textile Consultant, Blogger & Entrepreneur. Mr. Kiron is working as a textile consultant in several local and international companies. He is also a contributor of Wikipedia.
