LACEMAKING of Puerto Rico
 

A Puerto Rican craft that has undergone a big revival, just as it seemed that it would disappear forever. Originating in Spain, mundillos  are a type of bobbin lace-making. This particular kind of lace, five centuries old.

The first lace made in Puerto Rico was called torchon ("beggar's lace"). Early examples of beggar's lace were considered of inferior quality, but artisans today have transformed this fabric into a delicate art form, eagerly sought by collectors. Lace bands, called entredos*  have two straight borders, whereas the other traditional style, puntilla, has both s straight and a scalloped border. The best places to see the craft of the mundillo are:

*Entredos [literally Entre dos = between two] has two borders so that it can be used as an insert in clothing, as bands in guayaberas, the traditional men's shirt, in dress sleeves or the body of the dress as a design feature. Puntilla is edging and can be straight edged or scalloped. Often this is seen in handkerchiefs or borders, as it has one edge to attach to fabric.


Puerto Rican (Telar) Pillow left ---- and traditional bobbins right

Puerto Rican Travel Pillow Directions

    

                                                                

                                           

                              Bronze Statue at Moca P.R.                 wooden sculpture                                             

             
  Young girl making lace                                 Lacemakers at the the fair.

 

Mundillo: A Brief History
 This information was provided by:
Dr. Ellen Fernandez-Sacco -Curator
Museo del Mundillo in Moca, Puerto Rico

More than two centuries ago, the art of mundillo developed in Moca.  Mundillo is a form of bobbin lace known for its particular repertoire of patterns used to decorate the clothing of infants and adults.

Mundillo remains important in Moca and in surrounding counties as part of the local economy, supplementing the income of myriad factory workers in the sugar and needlework industries during the 1920s to 1960s.

Women worked in the home or in clothing factories located on the west side of the island. A large part of the clothing produced was exported to New York to be sold in department stores. Many women made mundillo to supplement the low wages earned in factory work. With time, the sugar industry and the needlework industry disappeared from Puerto Rico in search of lower cost of production. But the tradition of making mundillo with calado (drawn work) and bordado (embroidery) continued, and was revitalized by families of artisans in Moca and its surrounding counties.

Mundillo has survived despite the economy’s rise and fall into the present. There are over 9,000 mundillistas (lacemakers) on the island of Puerto Rico and Moca is recognized internationally as the “Capital of Mundillo”.

 

Making lace involves the use of bolillos (bobbins), hilo (cotton thread), alfileres (pins) and a patron (pattern) to create simple or intricate laces set into clothing, or today, made into earrings, necklaces or decorations for the home.

Traditional Puerto Rican lace is worked on the telar, or mundillo, a box with a round pillow upon which the patron is attached; the pillow is turned and the needles are removed once the woven lace is completed.

A telar or mundillo can rest on a table or on the lap, an innovation that made it possible to work outdoors or in a variety of situations.

Today, lace is also used to create bridal accessories, earrings, necklaces and decorations for the home such as curtains, bedspreads, tablecloths and handkerchiefs.

 
   

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