LIMERICK, EDGING

Delicate Limerick Needlerun Lace Cuff, Ireland c. Late 19th Century

This delicate Limerick lace cuff, made in Ireland in the late 19th century, features a floral design worked in a range of intricate needlerun embroidery patterns on fine machine-made net. A scalloped edge, finely hand-stitched, finishes the lower border, while the top and sides are neatly folded and hemmed — suggesting the cuff was made from a strip of lace repurposed or adapted for garment use.

Limerick lace is a form of hand embroidery on net. It developed after 1809 when the invention of the net-making machine by John Heathcoat made net more affordable and widely available. The technique flourished in Ireland following the 1843 founding of Charles Walker’s factory in Limerick, which employed young girls — often between the ages of 11 and 14 — who trained for up to seven years.

Patterns were first traced using tambour (chain) stitch and then filled with runners — darning-style stitches — by skilled needleworkers known as runners. High-quality early pieces could incorporate as many as 47 different needlerun fillings. Limerick lace became prized for its fine linen thread, variety of stitches, and delicate aesthetic, appearing on evening gowns, tea dresses, shawls, collars, and cuffs.

Although the lace industry declined following Queen Victoria’s mourning period after Prince Albert’s death in 1861, a revival in the 1880s — led by convent schools and supporters of Irish design — reestablished Limerick lace as a cherished textile art form.

This cuff is a refined example of that revival period: modest in scale but rich in craft, part of a lace-making tradition that reflected both artistic skill and social change in 19th-century Ireland.