The word "lace" means "surround", decorate the edges of clothing and other products made of fabric with decorative trim. Thanks to one mysterious detail of the costume, the life of any person can be imagined as a magnificent holiday, regardless of their social status or class. If you add lace to even the simplest dress, all the differences will disappear. The magnificent solemnity of this openwork weaving is the real magic transforming everything around.
History of lace
Where exactly this craft originated , which turned into real art, is not known for certain. The only thing you can be sure of is that even then lace was divided into two categories: it could be sewn with a needle or woven on bobbins - thin chiseled sticks. It seems that this type of decorative art is a primordially Russian craft, but in fact lace weaving came to Russia from Europe.
Lacy work is a very laborious process. The technology of braided lace, in its modern sense, arose in the XV century. Then the products were a narrow strip with a geometric ornament and a serrated contour. Such jewelry was very expensive, sometimes sold by weight, and only the aristocracy could afford them.
What was decorated with lace in the Middle Ages
Lace ruffles framed neckline cutouts, peeking from the sleeves and were used to decorate handkerchiefs. However, despite the high cost, these products had one undeniable advantage: simply replacing one lace with another, you could change the old costume beyond recognition and wear it again like a new one. Until the first half of the 17th century, all products were imported from abroad. All products were made of gold and silver threads. But later, a simpler linen lace completely replaced the expensive gold. They made products mainly for themselves, since this type of needlework required a lot of time and labor costs.
The legend of the appearance of lace
It is believed that the bobbin weaving technique was invented in Italy and from there spread throughout Europe. There is a beautiful legend about the appearance of the first lace: once an Italian sailor, setting off on a long voyage, saw an alga on the seashore of amazing beauty and decided to give it to his girlfriend. Then he swam away, and the girl wanted to capture the pattern, weaving it from threads. Binding them, she could not achieve the desired result and guessed to hang the load. And so appeared weaving on whooping bumps.
Russian lace: history and types
But in Russia, wicker patterns were common in the deep Middle Ages, they were only used mainly in architecture - when creating temples. The history of Russian lace began thanks to Peter I. There is a legend that in 1725 he took 30 laceworkers out of the Dutch province of Brabant and placed them in Moscow, in the Novodevichy Convent. At this place, street children were taught. And so began the spread of lace throughout Russia. But the centers of this traditional type of decorative art became two cities: Vologda and Yelets. As a result, the main types of Russian lace became "eletskoe" and "Vologda". Lacemakers revolutionized weaving - they began to create products of arbitrary shape, linking ornaments to each other.
With the advent of fashion for Western European costume, Russian needlewomen began to imitate foreign styles and create lace patterns to decorate dresses, shawls, decorate the edges of towels for the aristocracy. The first products were woven from precious threads and were used to decorate princely and boyar robes. But gradually a special traditional pattern began to be developed.
Features of the Russian lace
The history of old Russian lace developed. And the technique of its manufacture has changed. An interesting feature of Russian lace was the division into borrowed for the nobility and the national, whose pattern was first created intuitively. Using simple tools: wooden sticks and threads, the craftswomen depicted on the openwork canvas all the charm of Russian nature. This has become his main value. Lace-making in Russia was distinguished by originality and originality, such a pattern could not be deduced from some Western European samples.
In order to understand what exactly was the feature of these patterns, it is worth listing only some of their names:
- peacocks;
- oak forest;
- flowing river;
- loin money;
- bast shoes;
- brooches;
- dumplings;
- cities;
- swivel edge;
- lamb horns;
- pancakes;
- pava after pava;
- the little ryzhechki;
- grouse;
- cuttings;
- narrow nodules.
In weaving, needlewomen often used drawn gold and silver, woven and spun with silk, gold and silver thread or thread, various spangles. In pre-revolutionary times, buyers worked, who provided lacemakers with work. They bought finished products and resold them. They provided the craftswomen with material. An interesting fact: the Soviet Union paid lace on Lend-Lease debts after the Second World War.
Materials for lace making
Russian lace could be planted and lowered pearls, feathers, down and ermine fur. A similar variety of materials for lace, as in Russia, was not found anywhere else. Only the names of linen threads for weaving, there were about 150 numbers - from the most dense to almost imperceptible. The very technique of lace weaving in the old days received the popular name "female conception", and the craftswomen engaged in this type of needlework were called "lashes." Now the materials for needlework are so diverse that the craftswomen try to create lace from almost everything that is: from floss, cotton threads, silk. But first, they always weave out a sample in order to try how the thread will behave before using it in a large product.
Different weaving techniques require different pins. For coupling equipment - studs, and in the steam room - with a round tip. You can not use pins with eyelets at the ends, otherwise the threads will be tangled and torn. Bobbins are the main tool of lace. Experienced craftswomen say that not only the process of work, but also the mood of the needlewoman herself depends on them. Therefore, it is recommended that beginner needlewomen select this tool individually. You need to look for your form and material.
The history of Yelets lace
As the most skillful, the Yelets lace became famous. The art of weaving on bobbins already existed in Yelets - local craftsmen made a special cord from wool, which was used to decorate soldiers' uniforms. Weaved it on eight thick bobbins and on a pillow - this technique was very close to the one that was used to create the lace, because it was easier for local girls to master a new kind of needlework.
The year 1801 dates to the first documented presence of lace in Yelets. This is evidenced by a towel made in this technique, with the inscription: "This board was sewn by the deacon’s daughter Alexandra Ivanovna." On the canvas - white lace embroidered along the contour of the figures with gold thread. Among the patterns there is an image of a deer, which determined the ownership of the product by the Yelets craftswoman, since this animal is depicted on the coat of arms of the city. This grid is also in favor of this version, which is one of the main differences between this type of folk craft.
The main differences eletskogo lace
The art of local needlewomen was distinguished by special patterns characteristic only for this region:
- buckwheat;
- bugs;
- raven eye;
- elets flower;
- spiders
- pearl;
- star;
- cream
- small river;
- peacock;
- deer.
Among the craftswomen from this city, the nuns of the Znamensky Monastery were considered the best. More than 200 women wove the most skillful lace, and the monastery itself became a kind of school for needlewomen. Here, orders were fulfilled for the creation of jewelry for churches and clothing for clergy, for unique items made of silver and gold threads for the imperial court.
Types of Yelets lace
In pre-revolutionary times, two types of Russian folk lace were woven in Yelets: arshin and piece. Arshin was canceled and cut off, like ordinary fabric, the fashion for it never passed. Piece products were such as tablecloths, napkins, lace collars - they were not always in demand. The painstaking work of needlewomen from Yelets has become famous throughout the world. In Europe, the first acquaintance with this type of Russian lace took place at an exhibition in Vienna in 1873. Local experts were delighted with the craftsmanship and subtlety of the work and praised these products. Yelets lace stands out among other types of this art with its richness of pattern and the number of small details. The density of weaving is constantly changing, and the shapes of flowers and foliage are distinguished by a special grace of execution.
Features of Yelets lace composition
Russian folk lace from Yelets also stands out against the background of others with a special composition of the picture: the ornament is built from small floral patterns, such as rosettes, squares and unusual lattices. This work was carried out mainly by representatives of merchant and landlord families, but then art spread to villages and villages, mainly thanks to serf girls. In early works, geometric patterns with gratings are most often found. Plant ornaments appeared later. The details in them alternate and create a rhythm that merges into a single and harmonious canvas with a special meaning.
How to create ornaments
This type of needlework is often associated with frosty patterns or thin cobwebs, and the melodic bells and whistles are called music. Once the sculptor Sergey Konenkov described in one sentence the whole uniqueness of the Yelets lace: “Can you not admire the lace blizzard of the Yelets craftswomen who copy their patterns from windows and trees decorated with Russian frost.” The needlewomen really create their compositions, carefully observing the surrounding reality and nature, repeating what they see in their works, which gives ordinary everyday things a special, sacred meaning. This worked in the opposite direction: surrounding themselves with beautiful and unique things, people used to see beauty in the world around them.
Russian bobbin lace: manufacturing technology
The technique of manual lace weaving for several centuries has remained unchanged: a pillow, bobbins, stand and pins with threads, as well as the craftsmanship of a needlewoman - that’s all that is needed to make an elegant and delicate product. A pillow is a roller that is tightly packed with straw to keep it in good shape. Pins-cloves are attached to it, which are inserted to secure the bound threads. Above, the roller is sheathed in white fabric, so as not to accidentally dye the lace during the operation of the robot.
Whooping cough is made of hardwood - most often it is maple, birch or oak. In the old days, sticks for weaving lace were first evaporated in a Russian stove. The fuel used was straw or hay. Then the products were dried in the fresh air and processed to give the desired shape. Often the tree is kept in special conditions for several years to get the perfect tool. Chime of bobbins during weaving is also of great importance - the cleaner and more melodic it is, the higher their quality.
Differences between Yelets and Vologda lace
The number of wooden sticks during weaving can reach hundreds - because to a person who is far from lace-making technology, it seems unbelievable how the craftswomen manage not to get entangled in the weaving of threads. However, experienced lace workers assure that there is nothing complicated in their work and it is impossible to get confused, since all bobbins go in pairs - the spent pair is pushed to the side. If you master the work with ten pairs, then the number of whooping coughs already ceases to matter. Hence the name of this weaving technique - paired or multi-pair, since it is very difficult to count all the sticks involved in the process. This method was typical for Yelets.
Another name for this type of lace is dimensional, as it was measured in meters. Coupling lace came from the Vologda Oblast to Yelets, which, unlike the measured one, is carried out by a small number of bobbins according to a peculiar pattern-drawing applied to a special thick paper - a chip. The name comes from the word “chipping”, since in the old days schemes were not redrawn, but were chipped on birch bark. Drawings were very expensive and often the money was collected by the whole village. But the patterns often turned out to be inaccurate, and the lace turned out uneven.
The main elements of lace weaving
Although the weaving methods in both cases were different, they were still based on the weaving of threads. With the chain method, the ribbon is first made, focusing on the chip, and then it is attached in the right places. The paired weaving technique is not so flexible due to the large number of pairs of whooping cough. Therefore, the product is usually made from top to bottom.
The chip is attached to the pillow, and a pattern is woven over it, which is curved by a woven strip. This type of Russian lace is crocheted - with its help the places of bends are connected. The number of pairs of whooping cough usually does not exceed 12. A minimum of 6 is used, but as weaving their number changes.
The Vologda patterns of Russian bobbin lace, as well as the Yelets ones, consist of 4 basic elements: a lash, a linen cloth, a net and a front sight. The whip is the basis from which the training of each lace-maker begins. Then learn to weave a linen cloth and a grid and only after them - a front sight. All complex ornaments are made up of these details, just like music is made up of notes.
Experienced craftswomen say that everyone is able to master the art of weaving, the main thing is perseverance. In order to wind the thread, the needlewoman puts a bobbin on her knee and rolls it several times until it takes up all the recess allotted for it. There is also Russian crocheted lace, which is woven without the use of bobbins.
Lace in the modern world
Currently, thousands of needlewomen are fond of lace-making art. They work hard, creating from threads the analogues of real paintings. Craftswomen preserve and extend the life of the traditions of ancient Russian lace. The measured knock of wooden bobbins gives rise to an elegant and delicate weave, which over time does not lose its relevance, but only becomes more and more valuable. Airy and elegant lace in the Russian style has become an attribute of beauty and sophistication.
The world of fashion is constantly turning to this skillful craft. Modern fashion designers combine Russian embroidery, lace and modern materials. Trying to get away from the unification of clothing, to create an individual style and image, designers turn to folk traditions and create exclusive things, which, however, are expensive and not always accessible to people with average incomes. But the Yelets factory is trying to create products that can be affordable for different segments of the population: from small souvenirs to luxurious shawls and dresses.
The future of lace
The painstaking and hard work of needlewomen does not allow making this type of manual work an object of mass production. That is why various types of Russian folk lace are so highly regarded in the fashion industry. Elets laceworkers continue to work in the traditional way, trying not to use machine weaving. But, in order to keep up with the times, craftswomen try to follow the main fashion trends. The color palette of the threads from which the products are created has changed significantly. In the old days, mostly white or gray shades were used. Now colored lace is gaining popularity - red, turquoise, blue. These tones vary, depending on modern fashion.
The Elets lace factory still uses mainly manual labor, combining various folk crafts in its products. But machine-made fakes began to appear in eastern countries. Therefore, trying to preserve traditional patterns and not allow them to turn into a unified template, lace-makers protect their work and try to prevent copying of works. Therefore, at most exhibitions it is forbidden to take photos of Russian lace. The Yelets factory collaborates with modern designers, creating with them a new reading for traditional crafts. She tries to expand production, but is not afraid of innovations, continuing to develop this type of art.