Belgian Display Doll

This Belgian display doll represents a bobbin lace maker.

In the fifteenth century, the Belgian king decreed that lace making was to be taught in the schools and convents of the Belgian provinces. During this period of renaissance and enlightenment, the making of lace was designed to replace embroidery; unlike embroidery, lace could be unsewn from one material to be replaced on another.

Since these earlier times, many styles and techniques of lacemaking have been developed, almost all of them in the Belgian provinces. Today, two main techniques are practiced in the Flemish provinces of Belgium. The first, a needle lace, is still manufactured in the region of Aalst. It is called Renaissance or Brussels lace because it is mostly sold in Brussels. The second type, bobbin lace, is a specialty of Bruges.

Brussels, or ribbon, lace is a strong lace that today is manufactured on a larger scale, used for house linens. The pattern is drawn on paper. First the lacemaker will sew the ribbon onto the paper following the design. Then she will fill up the empty spaces with a needle using a variety of stitches. The paper is not pierced, the result being that only the paper and the ribbon are attached to one another. Finally when all the empty spaces are filled in, the tacking thread is cut on the back of the paper , the item of lace is removed and the paper pattern can be used again. The result is a finished item of lace.
Source:
http://www.trabel.com/belgium-lace-history.htm