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Bobbin Lace

Italiano

Back to Techniques

 

It's nearly sure that the technique of bobbin lace comes from the ancient art of passamaneria (braiding), whose work was done on a pillow with the help of wood or bone sticks carrying the threads. The origins of bobbin lace are uncertain, but we can say it appeared in Italy and in Flanders since the XVIth century.

As to the technical way of working, we can find two main kinds of bobbin lace: continuous and non continuous. In the first case, lace is worked in one piece from the start until the end using always the same number of bobbins, a number that can be also great: sometimes hundreds of bobbins are required for more difficult works.

In Italy, a good example of a typical continuous lace is Aquilan lace. 

On another hand, in non continuous lace the number of bobbins is usually lower. Lace is worked in separate pieces joined together at the end; pieces can require a different number of bobbins. This is the kind of lace traditionally worked in Italy. 

As to the pillow, in Italy the most common in use is the bolster pillow, placed on stands that change from region to region. In Tuscany, in the town of Sansepolcro, a cookie (mushroom) pillow is traditionally used.

Lace is usually worked following a basic design put on the pillow; the threads are fixed by pins.

In Valle D'Aosta, in the town of Cogne, lace (a continuous, Torchon lace) is worked without any supporting design: the pillow is covered with a fabric similar to scottish kilts and the lacemaker works freely, only using the square lines of the fabric as size reference.

Bobbins work always in pairs; to make the main movements, the so called girata and incrocio (twist and cross), at least two pairs of bobbins are required. With three pairs, the basic lace points, punto tela and mezzo punto (Whole stitch and half stitch) can be made.

As to threads, linen and cotton, white or écru, as well as silk, are traditionally used. Modern lace makes much more use of coloured threads.

An old lace technique, florishing again with great interest, is the use of copper, silver, gold threads to create original jewels. 

As to design and styles, there's a great variety of laces in Italy, frome those typical of particular places whose name became also the name of that kind of lace (Venice, Milan, Cantù, Aquila, Sansepolcro, Offida, isernia, just to make some examples), to modern lace productions, far from the past, genuine works of art.    

 

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