Conservation of Lace – To Conserve and Support Guipure Lace

Abstract: The purpose of this dissertation is to increase knowledge about how to best conserve and support broken bridges in guipure lace, a type of lace that has no net ground. The focus is to investigate what conservation methods and what conservation materials conservators use to support and conserve lace in general. Beyond this, some conservation methods and materials are tested and compared. A personal as well as a professional evaluation are made of the conservation treatments completed, based on aesthetics. A personal evaluation is also made based on the strength and workability of the materials and methods during the conservation treatments. A literature study and a questionnaire establish what methods and materials are commonly used for conservation and support of lace today and in the past. The dissertation does not, however, focus on the most common methods mentioned in the questionnaire and literature, but on the less common ones. The methods tested, focused on the bridges of the lace, to explore if it is possible to support guipure lace without a support fabric in an easy and more aesthetically pleasing way. Two stitching methods, both based in lacemaking, were chosen, and tested with three different threads (cotton and linen thread as well as Mouline embroidery floss). A total of six treatments were undertaken with varying results. However, the results show that it is possible to support guipure lace without using traditional conservation techniques. Title