Engageante of needle lace with bunch flowers and tulips

Engageante of natural-colored needlepoint lace: flat Venetian net ground lace. Elongated rectangular model with broadened center section and a shell border along the lower side. The symmetrical pattern consists in the center of three cup-shaped flowers, from which vines wave to both sides, covering the entire width of the engageante, with waving compound leaves, cluster flowers and large tulips. The motifs are made with undecorated buttonhole stitches between which countless fine cutouts are made. A slightly thicker, but equally fine outline thread is used to accentuate pattern parts. The motifs are connected to each other by a fine mesh ground with crosswise bars. In and around most flowers and leaves very fine decorative grounds are applied in many variants, including grounds with diamonds, 'partridge eyes', blocks and zigzag lines. In some leaves a bar ground decorated with picots is used as decorative ground. The shell border is finished with picots.