Needle Lace
Starting your Journey with Needle Lace
Starting a new craft while missing the most basic supplies is just asking for trouble and frustration. Start your journey the right way by taking the time to gather the proper materials.
Punto in Aria translates to stitch in the air. This is a name given to a specific type of early needle lace that was worked on a card or template of some kind, following certain orders of operation. In the early days, this lace would be made in pieces of fabric from which squares of threads had been removed. Into the empty square, the lace maker would work lines of stitching forming a grid and then work a variety of geometric or organic designs, depending on the era.
Scrolling Laces
As lace making evolved, geometric shapes were left behind in favor of organic, natural curving lines. Scroll work laces began to gain in popularity. It wasn’t long before the scrolling style evolved into deeper complexity itself and became Punta Rosalina, or Rose Point lace. Rose point lace was popular throughout the latter half of the 17th century and became highly prized for its fine, glorious craftsmanship.
Rose Point (Punta Rosalina)
As the lace continued to evolve, rose point lace emerged. At first, it was like the lace in this photo, scrolling vines with a ground of filling stitches. As it gained in popularity, the scale of the design diminished and eventually became Venetian Point lace. These styles of lace are not worked in the same order as the previous two. In this case, the outline of the vines is worked, or the outline of the more solid motifs is worked, then the ground filling is worked followed by the heavier solid work of the main motifs. This process is still used for needle lace today.