Leavers lace is prized by dressmakers and fashion designers as the world’s highest quality machinemade lace, so refined it takes a magnifying glass to distinguish it from handmade lace. Highend fashion houses like Christian Dior, Gucci and Burberry have used the lace, and Kate Middleton’s Alexander McQueen wedding dress featured Cluny lace for the Royal Wedding. But only a few factories still make this luxury fabric, and they’re facing increasingly strong headwinds to get by.

WSJ visited the Cluny Lace factory outside Nottingham in England to see how Cluny Leavers lace is made, and capture the meticulous lacemaking process that could soon disappear.

Chapters:
0:00 Leavers Lace
1:11 The Jacquard cards
3:28 Operating the machines
6:21 The battle for survival

WSJ's Coveted highlights the precision and process behind expertlycrafted cult favorites — from the pencils beloved by Disney animators to the sushi knives breaking thousands of years of Japanese tradition. These stories show how the smallest everyday items can be transformed into the ultimate luxury splurge.

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