Van Dyke Points or Saw Tooth Trim in Regency Clothes

« Happy 110th Birthday, Georgette Heyer!

Van Dyke Points or Saw Tooth Trim in Regency Clothes

August 18, 2012 by Vic

Infant’s hand-embroidered dress, c. 1815-1820. Image @Vintage Textiles.

Whenever I view fashion plates and clothes from 200 years ago with Vandyke points, my gaze always lingers. I love these deeply indented trims and decorations, whether they are made of lace or cloth. These are sewn by hand! Imagine the work that went into them.

Vandyke points on the sleeves of a girl’s dress, 1815-1820. Image @Vintage Textile

Delicate muslin border. Image @Vintage Textile

These trims were named after Sir Anthony Van Dyck, a 17th-century Flemish painter (and popular portraitist for British royalty and the upper crust), who was known for painting elaborate V-shaped lace collars and scalloped edges on both his male and female sitters. The pointed vandyke beard was named after him. You can see an example of both in the portrait of Charles I below.

Anthony Van Dyck’s triple portrait of Charles I. Notice the scalloped edge lace collars and pointed vandyke beard.

Vandyke points are labor intensive. The edges you see in the sample of a child’s dress are sewn by hand, as are the tucks. One can only imagine how much time it took, but the results are striking.

Notice the Vandyke points. Love this Heideloff fashion image, 1794-98.

All of the lade edges were once hand-tatted; they are now machine made, but no less spectacular.

Modern reproduction of a regency gown using lace with vandyke points

Vandyke points edged skirts:

Muslin dress with vandyke edging, 1820-1825. Image @Christie’s

They embellished lace caps and collars:

Vandyke points on lace cap and on collar, detail of an Ackermann plate, morning gown, April 1812.

And edged necklines:

1818 ballgown with satin vandyke points edging

They were used to decorate hems:

Silk European dress, ca. 1819-22. Image @MetMuseum

And are still made for modern edgings:

Modern lacy knit with vandyke points

17th century antique clothes looked rich and splendid with these added lace embellishments:

Italian collar with sharp lace points, 1610

For embroidery stitches and lace tatting, click on the following link: Van Dyke online tatting: This article demonstrates how to tat your own Vandyke point lace. Warning. Time consuming. And the link in the caption to the image below:

Vandyke embroidery stitch – a nice way to fill in leaves and flowers. Image @Windy River embroidery stitch tutorial

More on the topic:

Victorian Van Dyke lace points
Bigelow Family Quilted Pelisse
17th c. Lace Gallery & Identification: Excellent examples can be found here
Van Dyke Trim and Pinking: This tutorial shows explicitly how to make VanDyke trim.
Sleeves and Van Dyke points

Rolinda Sharple’s painting of the Cloakroom at Clifton shows a number of dresses with vandyke points. This one demonstrates several rows of lace with scalloped edges, and sharp-edged embroidery patterns.

Please note: Green links are WordPress Ads.

14 Responses

on August 18, 2012 at 16:13 crazyaboutjane

I was never a fan because they remind me of shark teeth so I never thought they were romantic. Well, you changed my mind after this amazing post. Wonderful research and lovely pieces. Thanks!
on August 18, 2012 at 16:26 kathleen

Great information and fantastic pictures. I never even knew these had a name! Thanks for another great post.
on August 18, 2012 at 18:33 Serendipity Vintage

I generally have not been a fan either, but you’ve changed my mind as well with the lace on the reproduction gown and the edging on the petticoat. Both are amazingly beautiful and the delicacy of the fabric softens the usual harsh line of the saw tooth/ Van Dyke. Great choices Vic!
on August 18, 2012 at 20:19 Lisa

I agree. Really lovely, and I loved all the detail. thanks so much for such an interesting piece.
on August 18, 2012 at 20:55 kfield2

The infant gown at the top of the post has details that were made using what today’s sewers call French Handwork. It is indeed very time consuming but those who do it find great pleasure in doing it. I’ve done just a tiny little sample of one or two of the stitches. There are magazines out there on French Handwork. They’ve now figured out how to replicate these stitches on certain expensive sewing machines. Just beautiful details!
on August 18, 2012 at 22:14 Cheryl

So lovely. The blue girls dress is really sweet.
on August 19, 2012 at 01:48 suzan

I loved the pics. The collars and dresses were amazing. I never knew this style had a name. (especially pictures 6-12)
on August 19, 2012 at 11:33 Witch of Stitches

I am very familiar with the Van Dyck stitch as an embroideress, and have seen the Van Dyck points on clothing. I never knew why these were referred to as Van Dyck though – just never researched where the name came from – sawtooth was obvious. A very interesting post, thanks so much.
on August 19, 2012 at 13:06 ellaquinnauthor

So beautiful. I can’t imagine the work that went into them.
on August 19, 2012 at 13:07 ellaquinnauthor

Reblogged this on Ella Quinn ~ Author.
on August 20, 2012 at 09:09 Jennifer Redlarczyk

The dresses are spectacular. I sew and can really appreciate the fine detail. Although the pictures are really great, it would be fun to see them in person. ~Jen Red~
on August 21, 2012 at 04:49 cubéres-dutertre edith

c’ est vraiment très beau , tout fait à la main,
des ouvrages de Dames , des petites mains bien agiles
et il fallait du temps pour toutes ces ” coquetteris ”
mais l’ élégance etait à ce prix
edith
on August 21, 2012 at 14:30 Noticias de Jane Austen | Jane Austen em Português

[…] Austen’s World | Rendas e bordados com ponto Van Dyke (periodo da Regência) Share […]
on August 23, 2012 at 15:03 janice

well! or should i say well done! lovely. i will think of this differently. it reminds me of the hankerchief hems on dresses