TTOT190 Stitching in the City: A History of Lace in New York

Lace and Textile Historian, Elena Kanagy-Loux
Wednesday 11 February 2026, 7pm UK

New York City may not be front of mind when considering the history of lace and needlework, and yet, it was home to multiple little-known lacemaking initiatives over several centuries.

Join Elena as she surveys four centuries of history of lace production and consumption in New York City, up to the present-day revival in the popularity of lacemaking amongst fibre artists and hobbyists.

From the arrival of the first colonists on the ancestral land of the Lenape, Dutch merchants offered imported laces for sale, and English settlers brought their bobbin lace tradition to the Northeast.

Waves of immigrants to New York city brought a diverse range of lace techniques with them, and lace schools were established alongside decentralized and often exploitative cottage industries in the tenements to harness their skills. As the popularity of antique lace collecting grew amongst the Gilded Age elite, so too did the number of philanthropic industries training impoverished women and girls to earn a living through lacemaking, and retail establishments opened in the city to sell both antique and new laces.

Image credit: Rose Callahan

Supporting the RSN

The minimum requested donation for this talk is £8.50 per person, but you may donate a higher value of your choosing if you wish. Please note that Gift Aid (UK tax payers only) is only applicable for donations over £8.50. As a charity, we are very grateful for any support you can give us to put towards the RSN’s essential costs. Thank you.

Important Information

This event is a LIVE online talk at the given date and time and will last between approximately 60-90 minutes including questions and answers. You will need access to a suitable computer (with audio/video), tablet or smartphone device. You will receive your personalised Zoom invite no later than 24 hours before the event (3 hours if booked on the day). Your Zoom invite is unique to you and should not be shared, otherwise you may be unable to view the Talk. We recommend that you download and install the Zoom app on your device in advance of the Talk.

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This Talk will run from 7pm to approximately 8:30pm (19:00 to 20:30 hours) UK local time. If you are outside of the UK please check your local time, particularly if your location changes to/from Daylight Savings Time on a different schedule to the UK during March/April. To check and convert times please visit TimeAndDate.com.

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