Bruges Flower Lace Patterns by Edna Sutton
​This book compliments Edna's other two books; Bruges Flower Lace and Designing for Bruges Flower Lace.

​The book consists of 24 lace patterns along with short notes on each of the patterns which reference the techniques in Edna's Bruges Flower Lace

What works well?

• The patterns are printed onto card that is perforated so it can be torn out of the book easily.

Anything that we need to take into consideration?

• ​This book is currently out of print, but is available online booksellers as well as on eBay and is worth buying when you see it.

Bruges Flower Lace by Edna Sutton
Edna Sutton's book was the first English language book published on Bruges flower lace and introduced a whole generation of lacemakers to this floral lace.

​Edna Sutton also published two other books; Bruges Flower Lace Patterns and Designing for Bruges Flower Lace.

The Technique of Bruges Flower Lace by Veronica Sorenson and J E H Rombach-de Kievid
​J E H Romach-de Kievid also authored the Dutch language book on Bruges Flower Lace.

​This book takes you from the basics through to more advanced patterns and techniques.

Bruges Bloemwerk by J E H Rombach-de Kievid
This author co-authored the English language book The Techniques of Bruge Flower Lace with Veronica Sorenson

Whilst this book is in Dutch, the line drawings and photos clearly show the techniques used in the book.

What works well?

• The line drawings and black and white photos show the techniques clearly.

Anything that we need to take into consideration?

• The patterns for this book are supplied on two sheets as a supplement, at the back of the book.  You need to ensure that these are included when buying the book
• Although this pack is printed in Dutch, translating it should not be an issue - read my post on translations
• This book is currently out of print, it is occasionally available on eBay

Duchess Lace : An Introduction by Jane Newble-de Graaf
Often mentioned in the same breath as Withof, Duchess Lace is named after Marie Henriette, Duchess of Brabant, who married the future King Leopold III of Belgium in 1853. 

​As the author points out, because this lace was in vogue until the early 1900s, it often appears as antique pieces which makes it accessible to buy actual pieces for study and reproduction.

For me, Duchess lace makes a nice bridge between Bruges Flower Lace and Honiton / Withof as it has similar techniques to Bruges, but is more delicate, which can then be a gateway into the finer and smaller laces of Honiton and Withof.

Jane takes you through the history and techniques of the lace along with discussion and help on designing your own pieces.

Royal Honiton Lace by Elsie Luxton and Yusai Fukyama
With unprecedented access to the Royal Lace collection this book shows the history of Honiton lace through it's Royal connections and support.

Access was given to the Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace and also the Royal Archives. 

The cover shows the Honiton Lace covered Christening gown originally made for Queen Victoria and used up until Prince Williams christening.

Honiton Lace - A Practical Guide by Cynthia Voysey
When this book came out in 1991 it was exciting as it was only the third main stream Honiton teaching book published in 20 years.  

The first was Elsie Luxton's The Technique of Honiton Lace, followed by Suzanne Thompson's An Introduction to Honiton Lace.

This book could have been called 'a visual introduction' as it is full of clear black and white photos demonstrating each of the techniques, step by step

The two bobbins on the front were painted for Cynthia by Barry Biggins in his typical style.

The Technique of Honiton Lace by Elsie Luxton
For nearly a decade, this was the only modern book on Honiton and inspired many people to take up this fine lace.

Taking the lacemaker through beginner's pieces onto flat and raised & rolled work, this book also has a good collection of filling that can be used across the lace.

Elsie's writing style is easy to read and makes this book very accessible.

New Designs in Honiton Lace by Pat Perryman and Cynthia Voysey
Pat Perryman and Cynthia Voysey published this book with the view of offering a number of the patterns that they had designed, over the years.

They note in the frontispiece that they deliberately 'worked the patterns in a simple way to make them accessible to a large number of people.  They can, however, be made more intricate by interpreting them in a different way.'