Chantilly
lace originated at the
Château at d'Étrepagny, near
Paris,
France in the early
1600s. The town of Chantilly later became the production center for this type of lace.
It is constructed with a heavy, flat thread on a hexagonal mesh; white Chantilly lace is made of linen thread, while black Chantilly lace is made of a dull silk thread. A distinguishing feature of Chantilly lace is a shading effect caused by large areas of cloth stitch and half stitch.
Chantilly was a favorite lace of Marie Antoinette of France, and during the French Revolution many of the lace workers of Chantilly suffered the same fate as their sovereigns at the guillotine. After the Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte revived the French lace industry and Chantilly, being foremost in the market, was exported throughout Europe.