Type of lace: Freehand Alpine lace. Thread: linen or hemp grown and spun locally or brought by the lace merchants to the lace makers. A cotton gimp was used too.
Location: Just on the other side of the Vallée de la Maurienne, in Valle Susa. The main centre was Rochemolles, a hamlet near Bardonecchia. This valley was important for exchange and commerce.
 |
The pillow is filled with hay and covered with a
dark piece of material.
The bobbins are very different from the other Alpine
ones: they are turned and the wood used is different as well.
A little bag was attached with a long pin to the
pillow, to keep extra bobbins and some thread.
The lace maker balanced her pillow on a wooden foot which was often beautifully carved. The pins were hand-made, with a glass head. (Private collection, photo Nelly Comino) |
The lace: It was brought into the area by Isabeau du Serre about 1620. The centre was very active and important. Till the first part of the 20th century, women used to make lace to earn some money. The lace was used in the costumes for the decoration of the caps (or “cuffia”) and the collars. The lace edging of the cap is very finely pleated, a bit like in some Savoie villages in France.
The lace makers got the thread from haberdashers who collected their work to sell it in their shops.
The lace was generally about 6 to 8 centimetres wide.The stitches: cloth stitch, Point de Paris ground and sometimes Torchon ground. The motifs are often the same as in the other Alpine areas.
Modern sample by Nelly Comino
Sources: Nelly Comino / Written by Josette Martin Favelier, 2002
Contacts: An association, “La Meridiana” in Bardonecchia, is collecting information about old laces and tools. Their project is the revival of lace in Valle Susa and the opportunity of courses in Bardonecchia and Torino. Their main project is to study old laces and make modern samples from old documents.
email: lameridiana@virgilio.it
telephone: 0039 01 71 68 15 66
Nelly Comino is in charge of the technical part of the research. (
email: nelly@katamail.com)
Any information or photos of documents about lace in Valle Susa will be welcome. Please do not hesitate to contact the association or Nelly Comino at the above addresses.