When we talk about bobbin lace, the so called
tombolo, we immediately think about our grandmother's tablecloths, and aristocratic portraits of European ladies with wonderful dresses full of laces, and precious clothes and blankets… In other words, we think about something very beautiful and complicated which is not accessible to everybody. The bobbin lace has very remote origins, it belongs to the creative and artisanal culture of different European countries, among which we can find Italy, in particular the laces from L'Aquila, the Cantù embroidery, the traditional technique of Gorizia, just to mention some of them…
A real art shared by generations of lace experts which has been lost a bit with the arrival of industrial productions and the low-cost works. From the '80s however we are re-descovering this cultural treasure, modernizing it and diffusing it as to reach a more contemporaneous lace which, well conscious of its origins and traditions, looks toward the future with colorful projects, new applications and easy works. Actually the basic technique is accessible to everybody and just with some movements it is possible to make nice works funny to put on shirts, bags etc.
As in all creative arts you just need a little bit of imagination: the available materials are a lot and Casa Cenina had to open its doors to this new discovery!
So here are the necessary materials to test this wonderful (and not so hard) technique.
Fundamental are the
bobbins, in several shapes and according to the work we are doing, craft products in different woods and materials for a specific weight of the bobbin and for a different sensitiveness of the embroiderer.
The pillows:
rounded or
rolled, comfortable at home or during your trips.
The
stands for the pillows in different types and dimensions.
A lot of little useful accessories for your work: the
push/puller, the
traditional forked pinlifter, the
combo which includes in only one tool the two instruments mentioned above, the
blue matt self-adhesive film fundamental to protect the work from the ink of the drawing and the very beautiful
big pins handmade to divide the bobbins during the work.
Finally we suggest to beginners
a basic kit to make a little work, with bobbins, big and little pins, basic tools, charm and step by step instructions.
An antique world opening to the future, a new discovery that here in Casa Cenina we will follow with a lot of interest.
