AMATEUR: researcher, translator, needleworker. I am not an expert nor a teacher nor a designer.
I do not get paid for any of the tips or information that I write about, nor do I get any kind of kickback from any website that I recommend. This information is given wholly from the desire to share my experiences and help those who would like to learn more about Italian Needlework. My interests are my *hobbies*.
Two of the most characteristic motifs in Punto Maglie needle lace are the delightful human figures. The male figure is called the Pupo and the female, Pupa.
For their first book, the Associazione Punto Maglie has chosen to introduce us to the Pupa – a lovely little needle lace lady in a dress with a decorated hemline and three little buttons made of bullion knots down the bodice.
This slim, hardcover volume has 30 or so pages which are packed with step-by-step photos - each area of the design is broken down and gone over. Who would have thought that you'd build your Pupa upside-down?
Instructions include the materials needed, where to place your support stitches which help you to execute the needle lace, the various needle lace stitches used, the order of the work and pages and pages of photos.
Text is in Italian but if you have a little experience with needle lace you should do fine. The finished project is a 1.75 inch by 1.75 inch insert.
I look forward to those long summer days filled with sunshine to try my hand at this lovely little lady!
Napkin with corner insert of Punto Maglie needle lace. Image copyright Assn. Punto Maglie.
Central insert of Punto Maglie needle lace for the tablecloth. Image copyright Assn. Punto Maglie.
Following the theme of the exhibition: Green Monuments of Umbria - the trees, we can identify the leaves and the fruit of the Olive tree in the Punto Maglie pieces pictured above. Besides occupying an important role in mythology and symbology, the olive is also predominantly present in the two regions of Umbria (where the exhibition was held) and Apuglia (where Punto Maglie comes from) thus, this entry creates a bond between the two areas. Exhibition participants were required to demonstrate the development of
their ideas for their patterns on paper and produce pieces of their chosen lace or embroidery for a six setting tablecloth
(140 cm x 160 cm) with matching napkins (40 cm x 40 cm). The central insert of Punto Maglie needle lace pictured above measures 30 cm x 21 cm.
I wrote to Liliana Ciriolo of the Associazione Punto Maglie to ask her some details about this prizewinning lace which she made together with Anna Borgia, Mina Saponaro and Renata Skovran from a design by Alessandra M. Chiurazzi inspired by a 16th century model. It took them a month to make the pieces using white DMC no. 80 thread. Stitches employed were the buttonhole stitch, the cording stitch, picots and the net.
Congratulations to the women of the Associazione Punto Maglie and thank you for sharing these pieces with us!
On November 4th, the town of Maglie was featured on an Italian TV program "Ti ci porto io" [I'll take you there]. Around the 8:25 mark of the video below, you can see how they execute Punto Maglie needle lace and see some of the Associazione Punto Maglie's work which includes a bridal gown which took four women more than 5 months to make.
The interviewer says: Four people took five months to make it? Why do you do it?
Anna Borgia answers: For love.
The interviewer then asks how much it might cost and she asks for a ballpark figure.
Anna Borgia: Around six thousand euros.
The town of Maglie is located in the Apulia region of south-east Italy. The heel of the boot if your Italian geography is a little vague.
Punto Maglie or Maglie Embroidery is a type of needle lace which takes its origins from Burano, the famous lace-making island in the Venetian Lagoon.
Photo copyright Associazione Punto Maglie.
Characteristics particular to Punto Maglie are the human figures (pupo or pupa, masculine or feminine) often found among the geometric motifs, the most important of which are the star motifs.
Inserts are built upon a support of fabric with the pattern attached on top and are then cut away from the support and inserted into fabrics. Whole pieces can be constructed in this manner or by withdrawing some threads of the ground fabric and building on top of it in a similar method to traditional Reticello.
In 1905, as an experiment, evening embroidery and lace classes were added to the curriculum of an Applied Arts school instigated by Egidio Lanoce, advocate and pioneer of technical schools for the working classes. It was here that Punto Maglie was born.
Photo copyright Associazione Punto Maglie.
Around the same time a local noblewoman, Lady Carolina De Viti De Marco in Starace started a group of embroiderers, some who had trained at the Applied Arts school, to produce embroidered items to sell in order to supplement their household incomes. Lady Carolina and her descendants would go on to become very important to the textile arts of the area, but let's leave that for another post.
Photo copyright Associazione Punto Maglie.
Embroideries and laces from Maglie were exported to America and other European countries and participated and were recognized in the various International Fairs of the period.
Magie enjoyed much success with these endeavours until the years of the First World War.
Today the tradition of Punto Maglie is continued by the embroidery school Associazione Punto Maglie located at no. 60 via Luigi Puzzovio in Maglie. You can contact them by email at: punto maglie @ virgilio . it (remove all the spaces between the characters).
Every year I long to attend (but never have) the Hand Embroidery and Weaving Exhibition at Valtopina in Perugia. I search the internet for reports from attendees and drool over photos posted on blogs and websites. The region of Umbria is rich in embroidery history and there are so many interesting local techniques. One day I really must attend, if for no other reason than to satisfy my longing to do so.
Along with the various exhibitions at the show, there is always an open competition and this year's theme was Green Monuments of Umbria - the trees. This year, participants were required to demonstrate the development of their ideas for the pattern on paper and then to produce a tablecloth big enough for six settings (hemmed measurement: 140 cm x 160 cm) along with matching napkins (hemmed measurement: 40 cm x 40 cm) with their embroidery or lace ideas applied.
The category of lace was split by two winners using the techniques of Veronese Crochet Lace and a needle lace from the Apuglia region called Punto Maglie.
I wrote to Anna Castagnetti of Ricami a Fili Tesi to congratulate her and asked if she would share some details on the prize-winning piece of Veronese Crochet Lace she made together with Donatella Granzarolo. Here is what she said:
"Donatella made all the Veronese Crochet Lace pieces and I joined them together with needle lace bars covered in buttonhole stitch, after having prepared the holes in the fabric. Each tree is made up of eight pieces (three leaves equal one piece) and the trunk. At the four corners of each insertion there are a further four pieces (the sets of leaves). The insertions are finished around the edges with a cording or overcast stitch surrounded by a row of four sided stitch. Threads used were: DMC Cordonnet Special no. 80 for the buttonhole bars; Anchor Lace no. 20 bobbin lace thread for the Veronese Crochet Lace; Crochet Cotton no. 60 for the rest. I can't tell you how much time it took to make it all, we worked together which doubles the execution time and as we live 50 km away from each other, additional time was required for travel."
Below is a picture of one of the inserts:
Congratulations Anna and Donatella! Thank you for sharing the details of this piece with us and for the great photo!
Posts
