''Punto in aria'' band, Italy, 1601-50 ''Punto in aria'' (literally “stitch in air”) is an early form of needle lace devised in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It is considered the first true

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

because it was the first meant to be stitched alone, and not first onto a woven fabric. It is a closely related needle lace to ''

reticella Reticella (also reticello or in French point coupé or point couppe) is a needle lace dating from the 15th century and remaining popular into the first quarter of the 17th century. Reticella was originally a form of cutwork in which threads wer ...

'', and their designs have many similarities when compared side by side. However, the ''punto in aria'' was an important improvement on the ''reticella'' method, and was a breakthrough in needle lace design.

History

The ''reticella'' was the design that was the

catalyst Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

of the transition between fabrics made into lace by subtracting threads after needling, and lace made from scratch without fabric support. The ''reticella'' design required one to draw out threads after stitching onto fabric. As that design evolved, an increasing number of threads required withdrawing. Eventually, so many threads were drawn-out that the foundation became very flimsy and lace makers devised a new framework that did not require original foundation fabric. This came to be known as ''punto in aria''.

Design

''Punto in aria'' retains many of the characteristics of ''reticella'' but also is able to go beyond the geometric framework. The lace makers devised a linen and parchment base for their work. This base consisted of two or three layers of fabric with the parchment pattern on top. The layers were then basted together. The pattern was then laid over with a gimp which was basted down through the pattern and layers of support fabric. When the lace was finished, the basting stitches were cut between the layers thus leaving only the lace.

References

Needle lace Textile arts of Italy {{textile-arts-stub