Armenian needlelace (also known as Bebilla, Nazareth Lace and Knotted Lace) is a pure form of

needle lace Needle lace is a type of lace created using a needle and thread to stitch up hundreds of small stitches to form the lace itself. In its purest form, the only equipment and materials used are a needle, thread and scissors. The origins of need ...

made using only a needle, thread and pair of scissors.

History

Like lacis, or filet lace, Armenian needlelace seems to be an obvious descendant of net making. Where lacis adds decorative stitches to a net ground, Armenian needlelace involves making the net itself decorative. There is some archeological evidence suggesting the use of lace in prehistoric

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

and the prevalence of pre-Christian symbology in traditional designs would certainly suggest a pre-Christian root for this art form. In contrast to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

where lace was the preserve of the nobility, in Armenia it decorated everything from traditional headscarves to lingerie and lacemaking was part of many or most women's lives.

Technique

The lace is made by tying knots, usually tied onto the previous round of the piece creating small loops of thread onto which the next round of knots can be tied. Patterns are created by varying the length of the loops, missing loops from the previous round, adding extra loops and similar. When used as an edging the lace can be made directly onto the hem of the fabric being edged. When a doily or freeform object (such as the birds and flowers decorating traditional headscarves) is being started a series of loops is tied onto a slip knot which is pulled tight to complete the first round.

References

* * Specific {{Lace_types, state=collapsed Needle lace Armenian art Armenian culture Textile arts of Armenia

History

Technique

See also

References