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Maltese lace ( mt, bizzilla) is a style of
File:Maltese lace.jpg, Maltese lace
File:Malta, Lace making.jpg, A Maltese lace pillow in use
File:Young Gozitan lacemakers, 1910s.jpg, Young Gozitan lacemakers, 1910s
Maltese lace ( mt, bizzilla) is a style of bobbin lace
Bobbin lace is a lace textile made by braiding and twisting lengths of thread, which are wound on bobbins to manage them. As the work progresses, the weaving is held in place with pins set in a lace pillow, the placement of the pins usually de ...
made in Malta. It is a guipure style of lace. It is worked as a continuous width on a tall, thin, upright lace pillow. Bigger pieces are made of two or more parts sewn together.
The Lace Pillow in Malta is known as ''Trajbu'' (pronounced as "try-boo"), while the Bobbins are called ''Ċombini'' (pronounced as "chom-beany"); this type of lace making is very popular on the island of Gozo
Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After t ...
.
History
Lace made in Malta was originally needle lace, from the 16th to the 19th century, when the economic depression in the islands nearly led to the extinction of lacemaking there. But in the mid 1800s, Lady Hamilton Chichester sent lacemakers from Genoa to Malta. They used the old needle lace patterns and turned them into bobbin lace, which was quicker. It was not long after its introduction that the Maltese lace developed its own style from Genoese lace. Maltese lace was shown at The Great Exhibition of 1851 and it became popular in Britain. The style was copied by lacemakers in the English Midlands, and it was one of the sources for Bedfordshire lace. Lace is still made in Malta today. To ensure the survival of the craft, lace making is taught in Government trade schools for girls, while private bodies such as the Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce also hold special evening classes.Characteristics of Maltese lace
Maltese lace usually has the following characteristics which are useful for identification: * It is usually made from cream silk. Black silk was also used in the past. Occasionallylinen
Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant.
Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...
thread was used.
* There is often the 8 pointed Maltese cross
The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically.
It is a heraldic cross variant which developed f ...
as part of the pattern, worked in whole or cloth stitch.
* The pattern may also have closely worked leaves known as “wheat ears” or “oats”. These are plump and rounded in shape, rather than the long narrow leaves of other types of bobbin lace.
References
Bobbin lace {{Malta-stub