Alençon Lace is a fine needlepoint lace made of linen thread. It took its name from the French town of Alencon in Normandy France, where it was developed by Marthe Laperriere. As a local needlewoman, she attempted to faithfully reproduce Venetian lace, which was in high demand at that time. She was inspired to improve upon the Venetian lace and with her help the unique Alençon lace was developed. Another innovation credited to her was the division of lacemaking tasks which allowed women to specialize in particular aspects of the work thus working faster and better. 

In 1665, the Minister of France, Colbert, attempted to stem the flow of imported Italian Lace and created the Royal Lace Manufactory in Alençon. He wanted Lace to become a direct copy of the Venetian Lace, still being imported at great expense, and brought 20 Italian Lace makers into town to teach secrets of their famous Lace to local women. The women of Alençon had a difficult transition, as the techniques of Venetian Lace were more difficult. The new Lace became known as point de France. Technically more demanding, this new Lace improved the skills of local women and when the making of Alençon lace resumed, its quality was magnified. 

   Alençon Lace was the most expensive lace in the world! It was light and airy, yet durable. As it continued to develop, the lace became even finer and the 10 stages of production developed by Madame Laperriere became 13. Each stage was carried out by different workers, from the printing and pricking of the pattern on parchment vellum, to various kinds of grounds and stitching, to sewing together the segments and finishing the piece. Each lacemaker came close to perfection by doing her one specialty in the creation of this magnificent lace. Due to the exorbitant price of this lace and others, the demand waxed and waned. Between the French Revolution and World War I, production of luxury items on this scale diminished and machine-made lace brought affordable lace to the masses. Luckily lacemakers continued to make Alençon lace for the new tourist class and the techniques were preserved. 

Despite the fact that Alençon lace was made for more than two centuries and the design changed and developed during that time, the techniques used in its creation remained similar. The clothwork or solid areas of the design are made of closely packed buttonhole stitches (shown in flower petals of image on the left). These are outlined with a raised edging covered in tiny buttonhole stitchesThis is called a Cordonnet and emphasizes the design and gives a definite right side to the lace. The mesh or ground also known as tulle, is composed of loosely worked buttonhole twist stitches in a hexagon form using very fine thread. 

The earlier ground stitch (shown top left) was used until the early 19th century. Tiny circles or holes are often found scattered over this light mesh. Another popular design feature, are the minute picots often lining the bottom edge and many of the motifs. The edging is also sometimes worked over horsehair, which gives it a firmer and stronger feel. During one of the revivals later in the 19th century, a heavier ground (lower left) was used to add weight and substance. It also helps to date the lace today (notice the difference between the mesh of older lace shown in first two photos and the newer mesh in next two images). It was around this time that the lace was also made from cotton instead of the traditional linen.