Venetian lace is an extremely delicate, elegant and luxurious openwork canvas. Its distinctive feature is the combination of volume lines and small parts with areas filled with fine mesh.
The name of the technique is consonant with the place where it was developed and first used by Italian masters (in Venice on the island of Burano.)
A bit of history
The homeland of the world-famous Venetian lace is a very small village located in a distance from large settlements. Perhaps that is why the secret to creating amazing picturesque ornaments has been hidden from the public for quite some time.
The technique of Venetian lace was developed in the late XV, early XVI centuries. In those days, it had the signs of a border, that is, it was a long strip with a simple pattern and a tooth-shaped edge. It was used to adorn collars, cuffs, aprons and dresses.
Over time, the ornament became more complex and new elements were added. The very configuration of the lace fabric also changed, it became wider, turning into a full-fledged fabric. Now it is used to make dresses, underwear, boleros, shoes, accessories and other products.
Legend of the origin of technology
The Venetians are happy to tell everyone about how the Venetian lace was invented. This legend has become their property.
According to the story, this unique technique was invented by a skilled craftswoman, whom her lover, a sailor, presented an unusual seaweed as a gift. Then she bore the name "mermaid lace."
Waiting for her beloved from swimming and fleeing from boredom, the girl began to weave lace, choosing unusual algae as an example.
Features of Venetian lace
The appearance of this type of lace is very specific: its front side contains convex elements (lines, nodules, middles of flowers and small petals), while the inside remains smooth. In the original, working on the creation of the next pattern, the craftswomen did not use any basis. A thick thread folded several times served as a contour. It was laid along the lines of the pattern outlined on parchment, and was fixed at intersections.
Then, using a finer thread and needles, the craftswomen filled the gaps between the main lines with a grid and other decorative elements. To obtain voluminous fragments, lace makers laid horse hair inside the stitches. They were then very tightly sheathed with thread, not allowing the base to be seen through a layer of threads. This method is called “air stitch”.
The popularity of lace
Today, the original volumetric Venetian lace is extremely valuable, since the process of its manufacture is very laborious. Of course, the high cost does not serve as an obstacle for eminent fashion designers. They are happy to use this decor to decorate dresses, bags and other creations.
Such products invariably come out gentle and luxurious. Among the latest developments of the famous Dolce & Gabbana brand, you can see many models containing elements of Venetian lace.
Magical metamorphosis
There is good news for lovers to tie - the technique of creating Venetian lace can be embodied in a hook. Thanks to the innovative knitting approach introduced by Mademoiselle Riego de Blancardier, patient and orderly craftswomen can tie the Venetian lace with their own hands.
True, the resulting canvas only outwardly resembles the work of Italian enthusiasts and is called Irish lace.
This name is familiar to many who tried to crochet something more complicated than booties. Extremely beautiful, delicate canvases of Irish lace are collected from separately connected motifs and elements. The gaps are filled with an irregular grid of very thin thread.
More on Irish Lace Technique
Irish or Venetian lace crocheted from yarn in completely different colors. True, the production of cotton from white or pastel colors can be considered classics.
Elements and motives can take any form:
- Traditional flowers.
- Leaves.
- Curls.
- Birds, fish and butterflies.
- Geometric ornaments.
Selected fragments are knitted, trying to give them maximum rigidity. Forming embossed lines is not necessary, but this technique will make the canvas look like Venetian lace. Patterns for knitting long lace stripes are also relevant when working with typesetting lace.
How to collect elements in the whole canvas
When all the planned motives are connected, they should be laid out on the pattern of the future product, made in full size. Placed items must be securely fastened.
To do this, the pattern is imposed on a board filled with foam rubber or on polystyrene foam. It is very convenient to pin placed elements to such a basis. Then the points of contact of the motives are sewn together with a needle, and the gaps are filled with an irregular grid.
There are many subtleties inherent in the manufacture of Irish lace. Within the framework of this article, only the most important will be indicated:
- The mesh cells must be of minimal size, otherwise the canvas will come out shapeless.
- Canvases look good in which the net is knitted from yarn much thinner than the motif material.
- The lower edge of the product, the neck, cuffs and open armholes must be tied. Otherwise, the edges will quickly stretch and will not hold their shape.
- Care should be taken to securely hide the tails of the cut threads. This can be done with a needle.
- You need to steam the finished canvas from the inside.
Venetian lace: use in decoupage
Elements typical of the Venetian lace technique are often used to decorate various objects. Narrow ribbons are wound or glued to glass vases, flowers and leaves are cut out and used in decoupage. In the world, this technique is called Pizzi Goffre, and on the expanses of Runet - Venetian lace.
A master class on its proper use is proposed below. This technique allows you to create a voluminous and very beautiful decor on a variety of surfaces: on bottles, caskets, frames for photos.
Materials and sequence of work
To decorate a bottle, you will need:
- The bottle itself (glass jar, vase or other item).
- A piece of lace (a new canvas or a fragment of unnecessary clothing).
- Another decor for decoupage (cards, rice paper, napkins with a pattern).
- Durable adhesive for joining fabric with glass.
- PVA glue for the rest of the work.
- Acrylic primer and paint.
- Water based varnish.
- Acrylic putty and a tool for its application (small spatula, palette knife).
- Brushes, cloth for wiping hands.
First of all, the bottle should be wiped with a degreasing solution (alcohol or acetone). Then, soil is applied to its surface, usually it is light colored acrylic paint.
The next step is to cut a piece of lace and stick it to the side of the bottle. When the fabric is attached to the surface, carefully glue it with a brush on the front side.
In this position, the work should be left for a day to dry.
Then you can begin to putty. Often this material is used to neutralize defects on wooden surfaces and facilitate decoupage. Venetian lace is quite voluminous and dense, so you can not rely only on glue. It should be safe and handle the protruding edges of the putty.
To obtain careless irregularities, this material can be randomly distributed over the rest of the surface. This layer should also dry thoroughly (at least 24 hours).
Next, you need to completely cover the entire bottle with varnish. After it dries, the lace should be tinted with oil paint, and the residue wiped with a damp cloth. As a result, the paint remains only in the recesses, which gives the product the effect of antiquity.
The next step is to continue decorating: apply a background color, place roses cut from a napkin. Paper fragments should be carefully and gently smeared with a brush with PVA glue.
Shutdown
After the bottle dries well, it must be covered with several layers of varnish. Now the product can be considered complete.
If desired, biphasic craquelure varnish can be applied before this step to form decorative cracks. It should be noted that its use requires drying the work for another day. The resulting cracks will need to be tinted with oil paint, and then varnished.
Products in this technique look good, decorated with a metal effect paint, beads, ribbons and twine.