Barcelona Photoblog: bobbin lace
Showing posts with label bobbin lace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bobbin lace. Show all posts

September 04, 2009

Bobbin Lace: Pins

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Here is a detail of a bobbin lace pillow with a tacked pattern. Pins will hold the wooden bobbins in place while they twist and cross the yarn that will produce the final lacework. The image was captured during a small exhibition near Barcelona cathedral last August. By the way, this reporter-photographer-to-be, as you can see, is back from holidays to keep you posted about Barcelona as usual. I had a wonderful time in the Caribbean, in Cuba to be more precise. In coming days I will upload the pictures I took there to my Flickr account and leave a link here in Barcelona Photoblog.

March 14, 2009

Bobbin Lace or Pillow Lace, An Artful Skill

Bobbin Lace or Pillow Lace work - Encaje de Bolillos

Call it bobbin lace, pillow lace, bone lace or simply lacework, this technique, in which thread, pins and shuttles are dexterously combined, may not compete with sophisticated lace making machines that produce complex designs but definitely it is much more artistic. I mean, you can enter a drawing in some computer program to automatically weave an elaborate piece of lace but you will lose art and tradition in the process.

This is something that is handed down from one generation to another, it is a passion and a hobby. This woman, Isabel, was participating in a local contest of puntaires which is the Catalan word for a person who does needlepoint work

There were women of all ages and even some young boys. They were extremely skillful and it was really amusing to be standing there witnessing the stubborn endurance of this ancient medieval craft that is reluctant to disappear.

See also Bobbin Lace (Encaje de Bolillos), a previous post with a brief explanation of the process and an illustrative video.

June 09, 2008

Bobbin Lace or Encaje de Bolillos, Torrelles de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain

Bobbin Lace, Pillow Lace or Encaje de Bolillos, Torrelles de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain

This is a picture I took in Torrelles de Llobregat. You can see here in detail how bobbin lace, known in Spanish as encaje de bolillos, is made.

First you need a pattern or parchment where holes are pricked to mark the place for all the pins. The parchment is always laid on a pillow or cushion. The lace is worked with each hand holding at least a pair of bobbins, the wooden elongated spools or shuttles hanging from the threads, which are moved from side to side to form a twist, a braid, or a clothlike fabric called toile. The motifs are worked in a more dense stitch, and the ground is made with a looser stitch.

Bobbin lace originated in Flanders in the early 16th century although some say it came from Italy. From Flanders it extended to the rest of Europe. It was used for ruffs and collars back then.

In Spain it was customary to teach girls how to work bobbin lace at school and at home as it was considered an essential part of a woman's education.

Check this video about bobbin lace. It is short and not too illustrative but it has a brief explanation in English that might help.
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