Alençon lace

Alençon lace is a French needle lace, made in the town of Alençon in Normandy, with motifs outlined in a raised thread on a fine net ground.

Point d’Alençon is a needle lace: every part, including the mesh ground, is made with a needle. Its motifs are outlined with a cordonnet, a padded thread, which gives them definition. Its production in France was promoted in the seventeenth century to rival imported Venetian lace. The craft is recognised by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.