Why French Leavers Lace Is So Expensive | So Expensive | Business Insider

Leavers lace made in France is one of the most intricate and expensive types of lace you can buy. Thousands of individual threads are woven together on a loom that's over 100 years old. But leavers looms aren't made today. Companies have to maintain the looms that they have. This specialized process requires an expert at every step, but that makes finding new lace makers challenging. So how is leavers lace made? And why is it so expensive?

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Why French Leavers Lace Is So Expensive | So Expensive | Business Insider

[starlite]

I spent 18 years in the lace trade as a threader. My husband retired at 75, having put in 50 years as a weaver. This is hard, loud work but I would love to sit down right now and knock out a set and thread it back again, just for old times' sake. Unfortunately, Rhode Island, USA has no more lace work. The mills are closed, the machines sold. This video made me glad that the old machines are still being run in France, and I hope they are able to get the young help they need as the older ones retire.I last worked in a lace mill in 1998. I had to take up other work as the mills were closing down. A lace weavers job is very difficult, hard work and takes time to learn. In my husband's day he started as an apprentice and worked up. He did his Army stint and came back to the machines. Once he retired, he missed those old machines very much. He made some very pretty lace. Thanks for the memories. I miss those old machines as well.

[pammentzer]

I will never complain about threading my sewing machine bobbin ever again. Just astounding!

[sgvpotter]

i am completely blown away by the engineering of these machines. The amount of planning, calculations, and machining required to build these and all without the use of modern computers is astounding to me.

[wearesatellites]

Watching these incredible machines doing their thing with such precision after 100 years of use makes me even more annoyed with companies like Apple that build failure and obsolescence into their gadgets so that we’ll replace them every 2-5 years. So wasteful!

[damien]

I'm so happy to finally see my father's work (He's the gentleman who wore glasses and has a tatoo) And besides, I'm french, I just translated the sentences. If you ever have any questions, tell me in french😅

[CoRLex-jhvx]

Lace guy: We are selling holes!
Donut makers: Finally, someone gets it

[siddharthsekar]

I feel the product is reasonably priced for what it is. Also, the machines are truly beautiful and their intricate mechanisms remind me of a mechanical watch especially at 3:07.

[batinfaq]

What a great video. Having worked on looms made in the 1800s I must say the looms in this video are immaculately clean. Maybe it's because the thread is finer than the cotton I had worked with, but there is hardly any lint on the gears of their loom. That's impressive. I'm also surprised to see hardly any ear protection worn by these folks. Those machines are very loud, and I can't imagine working for long periods of time around those looms with no ear protection. The parts for these looms are incredibly hard to get if something breaks. They probably have their own machinist on call to make whatever they need. Thanks for all the work that went into this.

[deborahdoll]

If we, as consumers, invested in quality and took care of our purchases, we might not be throwing so much away. We have become gluttons in our purchases. 40 years ago I sewed a garment from black silk and hand sewn crystal embellishments. I paid 70$ a yard. I still have it and cherish it. I’m 64 now.

[cladyjovicaplv]

I'm French and my grandma worked in this business when she was young, but without the machines: she had to use a hand looming (weaving?) machine and it was soooo much work. It was a very hard job and she was relieved when she stopped working there, but she's made sure to let her grandkids understand how much work was behind laces from the Northern factories. I remember visiting a museum with her where she showed me the old machines she had to use and the newer ones that now do the job she used to have to do! It's very impressive

[helenkartikas]

In Indonesia this lace is essential for the making of Kebaya (our national dress) especially for bridal kebaya. It's very beautiful and expensive! My mom handover her kebaya to me. Until today I still use it. This lace is everlasting!

[Eimi.Signo.]

The most incredible thing about these looms is something they barely mentioned - the jacquard punch cards. They were not only an innovation for weaving, but for technology as a whole. A census taker in the US looked at those cards (which work by allowing some pins of thread to pass through and stopping others in order to form the patterns) and decided to use that system to speed up the counting process for information in the 1890s census. Punch cards were then incorporated into early computers by companies such as IBM as a way to store data all the way up into tbe 80s. We went to the moon using computers reliant on jacquard loom punch card techonology! I love that these looms are still in use today.

[thekingtroll]

My grandmother was a true lady. She had different sizes and shapes of lace throughout her house. She had a round table in an entryway with a large round lace doily on it. A vase was in the middle. Over the years, with age, dust, numerous hand washings.... they yellowed.
She went into the hospital and was there for 3 weeks. I had a few relatives help me come in and paint, clean and really brighten the place up.
I made a sink full of that oxyclean for the very first time. I had a round white yellowed lace doily. I had a sink of mild warm water. I put the oyxclean in a container with hot water to dissolve it all. I poured that in the sink of water.
I placed the doily into the water and literally almost gasped as if I was on a tv commercial. It almost instantly turned white with brown water behind. I was floored and flabberghasted. I laid down two bath towels on the counter. I rinsed the doily and then placed it on the two towels topped by two more. Afterwards, I hung them over two chairs to finish drying. It looked like it was worth a million bucks. We did all of her lace. When she got home, she noticed that immediately and had a tear in her eye. She said they were her mothers and back then they knew how to make quality linens and lace.
Oh, we brought a ton of her knickacks, etc to the sink to clean. She had a lady with a hole beind her to put flowers in. She had artifical flowers and they were yellowed. I grabbed them and pushed them down into the oxyclean water, almost as a joke and they too whitened like brand new. We rinsed them and put them on towels to dry. So that product works for that silk flowers.

[jennylawson]

Growing up my great grandmother and grandmother had leaver lace in different places all over their homes. The quality and beauty is beyond amazing. The looms and threads are so delicate and take such a precise eye and touch. I actually got to hold a wedding dress made out of leaver lace the texture and beauty is exquisite. This art form I truly hope and pray carries on for many more generations. Ty for bringing back wonderful memories and for this awesome video 💕

[amrayabaptiste]

I love the precision and passion with which these laces are made. I love that there's someone who carefully goes over the lace to repair it! They are serious about their craftsmanship and I admire that.

[Laucron]

Man, that machinery is absolutely incredible. A work of art on itself even

[Aubz]

This is incredible! I hope exposure like this helps the industry. I once got to work with leavers lace on a wedding dress. It was such a finer quality than what we commonly see. I wonder if technology can be utilized to keep the looms working in the future. Could 3d printed parts help with broken parts if no other could be found? It would be interesting to find out!

[TheHarvestGoddessChloe]

I've been looking for good lace for so long now, hoping to find something other than the quickly manufactured crap you usually find. To know now that this exists has me so excited! I've always had to do my own lacework by hand, and it's such a pain, and it's always far too chunky for what I'd like. This has me over the moon about possibilities now! To create new patterns for lace, to go outside the normal possibilities and offer something completely different? Knowing now that it's possible with such machinery? Man, I could just kiss you all. This has given me hope that my dreams could become reality. It may mean more expense, but it's always worth it for the good art. And this? This is good art.

[lorenstribling]

I crochet lace using thread (very small items) so I appreciate the work that goes into this. Watching a piece come together is magical. This lace is worth every penny and more.

[PrincessCupncake]

I used to think lace was embroidered fabric with cut-outs until I found a drawer in my grandma’s house filled with real handmade lace by my great-grandmother. When my grandma told me what it was I was shocked that I had lived a quarter of a century and never saw real lace. Most people don’t even know what it’s supposed to look like which I bet is a contributor to the decline in demand. But once you see and feel it, you can’t unsee it. The way it billows and falls is ethereal. Absolutely exquisite! It is love at first sight