Lace making

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Klöppeln is a handwork technique (spindle-shaped, made mostly of wood, "the coil") in the means of Klöppeln and wound thereon yarn various peaks are produced.

Lace work in the local history museum Annerod (Hesse)
Lace maker in Rauma

Basics

Cardinal Godfried Danneels (in red), clearly recognizable the pointed Rochett

The manufacture of the hand-made bobbin lace is based on a systematic alternation of twisting - crossing - linking - intertwining threads in a multiple system. There are hand-made bobbin lace in the following variants: yard goods, inserts, doilies, edges, decorative elements or accessories, in fashion and in picture-making.

The template, the pattern, forms the basis for the manufacture of every “real lace”. The value of a pattern lies in the artistic design as well as in the mathematical and geometrical calculation - the design as a high art of design. The lace lessons are in copyright law. Of the multitude of hand-made lace makers, there are very few who are able to design and develop new patterns. These designs are and have always been the basic requirement for the manufacture of hand-made bobbin lace.

history

Regular share of the Lauterbrunnen lace club from 1916

Bobbin lace was created when the aim was to give the edges of clothing a solid and at the same time decorative edge. With variations of braiding, loose fringes became decorative elements on the clothes of the rich. Presumably in order to simplify the production, the idea came up to design these wickerwork independently of clothing and the first bobbin lace was made: braided lace.

The first sources for lace are pattern books from the 16th century from Italy , where the origin of the technique is assumed. The first pure pattern book for the lace technique was published in Venice around 1557: Le Pompe . The technology is said to have come from Italy first to Spain or the Spanish Netherlands and then to France. But the first bobbin lace can also be found in the Ore Mountains as early as the 16th century. Barbara Uthmann , the widow of a coal and steel entrepreneur from Annaberg , is said to have played a key role as a publisher in the spread of lace in the Ore Mountains. According to tradition, she provided orders to up to 900 braid weavers . In Central Franconia , the town of Abenberg in the Roth district is particularly known for the manufacture of bobbin lace, where up to 400 women worked. In addition to the Ore Mountains and Franconia , eastern Lower Saxony is a region where the lace craft supported many families with their livelihood. Since the second half of the 19th century it has been possible to make bobbin lace using bobbin lace machines. This marked the end of professional lace. Bobbin lace became a leisure activity. For example Leni Matthaei designed modern bobbin lace with which she could give new impulses to the art of bobbin lace. A decentralized dissemination of lace takes place through numerous courses at adult education centers in Germany. After the University of Fine Arts Hamburg closed its class for embroidery and textile techniques in 1969, the West Saxon University of Zwickau is the only university in Germany that still teaches lace making in the field of textile art in the applied arts department, Schneeberg. The lace museum at Abenberg Castle shows lace and teaches handicrafts with its own lace school.

Hand-made lace

Beaver with a flat bobbin pillow (from The Hunting of the Snark )
Lace makers 1936
Hand-made lace
St. Mark's Lion (385 × 545 mm) figurative ribbon lace in linen stitch with a mesh base by Therese Hallinger (1945)

The clappers are usually attached in pairs to a clapper cushion . When making bobbins, the threads of at least two pairs of bobbins are intertwined by crossing and turning the bobbins. Depending on the pattern and technique, the number of bobbins used can be several hundred. This is usually done using the pattern attached underneath, but can also be done freely without specifying a pattern (freehand lace). During the lace-making process, the lace work is fixed on the lace cushion with pins. After the lace has been completed, they are pulled out again so that the work can be removed from the lace cushion. The most frequently used material for bobbin lace is linen thread, as the threads are very tear-resistant. But silk and cotton threads are also used. Jewelry designers also use metal threads made of gold , silver or copper to manufacture jewelry parts or complete pieces of jewelry using the lace technique. There are special bobbins for bobbin lace with metal threads. Depending on the region in which the lace is made, flat cushions (as in Belgium and France) or rolls (in Germany) are used. In the Erzgebirge, bobbin rolls lying on stands are traditionally used.

Machine lace making

In the 19th century the first machines were invented that could produce textiles using the lace technique. These textiles must have a continuous pattern, as it is still not possible to make bobbin lace "around the corner" using machine bobbin lace.

The layman cannot tell whether a lace was made by a machine or a lace maker. For experienced lace makers, however, there are a few characteristics that indicate machine-made lace: A machine cannot produce round doilies or complex patterns, so that only borders and edges exist. It is also not possible to add or remove clappers. If the pattern of the tip is symmetrical, the machine works accordingly, so that turns and crossings are partially reversed. It becomes very noticeable if errors repeatedly appear in the same place in the pattern.

Types of lace

The differentiation of the types of lace can be done in three ways:

  • according to sample and technology or material used
  • due to the historical development in Renaissance , Baroque , Classicism and modern lace
  • based on the lace regions: Honiton (England), Tondern (Denmark), Brussels and Bruges (Belgium), Milan (Italy), Ore Mountains etc.

There are more than 40 different lace making techniques.

Braided lace

Style epoch: Renaissance, 14th - 16th centuries century

The braided lace is the first free bobbin lace that developed during the Renaissance. In Europe she became known from Italy. The braided lace is a very suitable trim lace as a decorative element of hems. She carried out the transition from the surface formation to the shaped jagged edge as a finishing edge. In the chronological order of the peak art Flechtspitze is to the fraying and Knotwork Macramé classify. The extremely strict geometrical pattern is loosened up with the incorporation of squiggles in the braider. Hardly any basic beats are included in the pattern design. Braided lace is rarely used for floral and figurative designs.

Reticella tip

Style period: Renaissance

A typical tip of the Renaissance, geometrically structured and yet playful. The fine art of hand-made bobbin lace can be seen with shaping in many figures. In addition to round - cut out in the middle - or semicircular, the triangular bobbin lace is in the foreground in the pattern. This open tip builds up geometrically in its design, starting from the center point.

Ragusa point

Style period: Baroque

The Ragusaspitze was named after the city of Ragusa in Dalmatia, today's Dubrovnik . It emerged from the Gothic braiding technique. The pointed shapes have been retained. The basics are made up of evenly-wide linen knuckles. Instead of the usual needle insertion, only reverse loops are worked on the right and left. The perfection can be seen in the pointed corner of the linen flap, the threading of the ribbon, connected with a second. This requires the greatest sensitivity and the greatest skill of the lace maker. The Ragusaspitze belongs to the group of open tips. It is designed in abstract symmetrical forms that are kept very pointed. The large eyelet, which is created by braiding the ragusa needle, is inserted as a decorative element.

Gimp tip

Style period: Baroque

It is believed that the gimp tip was introduced into Europe from Spain. She has worked in Italy, Belgium and Flanders. The tip got its name from the special feature of the incorporation of a gimp (wound thread, also known as a cord ). It underlines the individual pattern shapes and achieves plastic highlighting. Design: the gimp is led with linen stitch and worked in a continuous ribbon. It can be freely designed as an open and closed tip. The special features of the Baroque style are characterized by a curved compactness.

Milanese lace

Style period: Baroque

The traditional Milanese lace dominates the essence of the picturesque and strives for decorative, massive design. It is to be classified as the first point with a reason and belongs in the classification to the ribbon points. With the beginning of this technique, the strict quadratic division of the tips is displaced. The tendril becomes the dominant motif and forms new, more expressive ornaments in its moving lines. There are high standards in the design. The pattern is given great scope for development and freedom. Tightly bobbin lace stylized motifs - mainly flowers and tendrils - determine the design of the pattern. The Milanese lace is the expression of the ribbon lace in linen stitch with or without a mesh base.

Relief peak (Venise)

Style era: Baroque, the "high art" of hand-made bobbin lace

It is probably the most expressive and at the same time the most complicated bobbin lace in its production. The country of origin of this technology is Italy. Both the perfect pattern design - a masterpiece in lace design - and the high demands on the talent of the lace maker justify her reputation as the most precious of all lace. It reached its climax in the Baroque style. Carried out with painstaking precision, ornament is added to ornament. The relief tip is an open tip. Their very naturalistic design allows a lot of leeway between reality and fantasy. It always results in a painterly structure without clear reporting and focal points. The curved shapes lie on the surface. In the background is the elaboration of the plasticity and the form effect. The work-up of form strokes and the real following spoke base, which causes the connection of the irregular individual parts, is characteristic of this tip.

Valenciennes tip

Model of Valenciennes lace

Style period: Rococo

The development of this peak can be seen in the Netherlands. After the beginnings in the 16th century, the heyday came in the 18th century. The patterns range from high baroque to rococo style. The Valenciennespitze is a very durable and long-lasting tip despite the extremely thin linen yarn and its delicacy. These tips are worked horizontally with continuous threads as a closed tip. The special features are the use of three different mesh bases, which can be assigned to a certain time during development. Flemish mesh-rose ground around 1650, round or almost round mesh, the real mesh around 1700 and the square mesh (clear mesh) around 1830. The designs correspond to the Rococo style. Their forms are executed in linen stitch and enclosed with a pair of turning. The Valenciennespitze occurs mainly in the design as a narrow lace stripe.

Mechelen peak

Style period: Rococo

The Mechelen lace can be classified in terms of its development, beginning in the Baroque era and completing it in the Rococo era . She has mastered the art of lace in Belgium to this day. A typical feature is the enclosing of the forms with the cordonnet thread. The numerous, very fine decorative mesh sections are mainly made in droschel or tulle grounds. In her way of working she is a closed point. From the beginning to the connection, the system needs to guide the strong thread, the cordonnet thread. The patterns are naturalistic, the motifs predominantly small flowers, delicate tendrils and garland ribbons. The pattern is determined by the delicacy of the lace.

Brussels hand-made bobbin lace

Style period: Rococo, the "queen of lace"

The name refers to the place where the development of this technology mainly took its course. The heyday ranged from the Baroque to Classicism. The characteristic in the Baroque period - heavy and lush abundance - changed in the Rococo style to light, delicate and playful lace, which was retained in Classicism. The Brussels hand bobbin lace is worked as an open lace. The highlighting of the shapes, the filling of these in different strokes creates a contrasting effect, which is very expressive and gives the tip a special charm. The design motifs are very diverse in terms of breadth and depth. They range from replicas of nature, ornaments, pictorial representations to fantasy forms. The most popular patterns are the arrangements of flower shapes.

Duchesse tips

Style epoch: Classicism, the "princess of lace"

Belgian duchesse lace

Belgian origin, to be classified in the middle of the 18th century. The duchess lace as a combination lace represents the bobbin lace in the highest perfection. It combines in a special harmony different tip techniques of both the bobbin lace and the needle point. Worked as an open tip, it allows you to play with the thread. Different thread sizes and types of thread used, the alternation of the fillings of motifs from airy half stitch to delicate linen stitch, result in a shading of the structure. The pattern is classical with an irregular distribution. The main motifs are fairly large, artistically valuable components. The emphasis of the contours with a cordonnet or silk thread, the encircling with delicate ribbons and the recurring variations of the leaf shape complete the work of art. The basic part forms the storage base or the tulle .

Torchon tip

Style period: Classicism

French torchon:

The French torchon belongs to the group of modern lace, from the second half of the 19th century. It developed in France and has its origin in the imitation of netting. It is worked as a closed point. The pattern is made using a square basic net in a diagonal design. The new lay is vertical in the raised square and forms the main design feature alongside the half and linen lay sections. The basic decorations also include leaf-shaped new strokes, spiders and turning points. The designs stand out in geometrically simple and simple, but very characteristic forms of expression. This tip is used by the meter, inserts or rectangular and square blankets. A design in a round shape is not possible.

Belgian Torchon:

It is also a representative of modern lace and was preferred in the second half of the 19th century. It is a closed point with the new blow as a typical feature, which is usually perpendicular to the raised or diagonal square of the basic network. The basic design of the Belgian Torchon is quite simple, clear and sometimes quite rough. In order to maintain the differentiation from the tip, the design is supplemented with extensive, generous decorations. The character of the geometric shapes and lines remains predominant and is based on the square basic network in a diagonal design. The Belgian torchon is most easily recognizable by its external pattern - a depicted fan - but not always applicable.

Idria tip

Style period: Classicism

Italian Idria:

Idria lace belongs to the group of modern lace. The technique was developed in the 18th century in the town of Idria (now Idrija , Slovenia) and named after her. The characteristic is an even ribbon made of wide linen stitch, each with a pair of twisting pairs carried outside the row of needles. The Italian Idria is an open top. The pattern is very abstract. Ribbons usually only emphasize the horizontal and vertical. Bridges (braided false braid) or simple geometric basic parts are mainly used to connect the ribbons.

Russian Idria:

In the 18th century, tsar Peter the Great brought about the introduction of lace making in Russia. Based on the Italian Idria technique - geometric patterning - the ribbon shape of the Russian Idria is naturalistic. The combination with folklore determines the folk style, which has endured to the present day. In the foreground of the design of the Russian Idria are the motifs of plants, flowers and leaves.

Schneeberg peak

Style era: modern lace

Erzgebirge bobbin lace - GDR stamp set

It is the only technology developed in the Ore Mountains around 1910. The drawing teacher Paul Rudolph at the lace and drawing school in Schneeberg was commissioned by publishers in the Ore Mountains to design new patterns. These should be characterized by a slightly stronger material, above all faster production and a typical design. This succeeded in all requirements with the Schneeberger technology. It can be worked as an open and a closed tip. In the free design, the continuous ribbon is swung to naturalistic or stylized structures, which in their effect achieve a versatile and tasteful pattern and shape. Despite the stronger linen thread, the main features of the tip can be "light" and "airy" using the pattern design.

Russian tip

Style period: Classicism

The lace to fall in love with is made with just a few pairs. There are many design possibilities with the ribbon lace, which is made in different regions of Russia and also in the lace regions of Germany. The techniques of this ribbon tip consists mainly of the use of outline thread, of color and various kinds of reasons.

Reception in art

In the fine arts, in literature and in film there were portrayals of lace makers. The paintings Die Spitzenklöpferin (Vermeer) and The Lace Maker (Netscher) date from the 17th century . The novel Die Spitzenklöpplerin (Lainé) , which was filmed in 1977 as Die Spitzenklöpplerin (film) , is from 1974 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Bobbin lace  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. https://www.bernerzeitung.ch/region/oberland/Grosses-Treffen-der-Spitzenkloepplerinnen/story/15323803
  2. Our district of Roth. Bamberg: Bayerische Verlagsanstalt Bamberg, 1995.