Valsesian Puncetto

I was recently gifted a flight to Italy and as you can imagine, dropped everything and went. I spent Easter in Rome then travelled to Verona, Florence, Prato, Bologna and on to the Valsesia region in the north eastern part of Piedmont, at the foot of the Italian Alps.

I had never been to this region and knew it only by reputation of the beautiful Puncetto needle lace so I was very excited to be offered the chance to drive up there with a couple of friends. I immediately contacted Paola Scarrone of the Scuola di Puncetto Valsesiano in Varallo to see if I could take advantage of their program "Puncetto whenever you want" which, aside from their other didactic programs, offers you the chance of lessons when you happen to be in the area.

I had recently been in contact with Paola as she and her association were kind enough to provide photography for my latest historical article on Puncetto in the May/June 2015 issue of Piecework magazine. We set up a lesson with Angela Stefanutto who I had previously studied with at Italia Invita in 2011.

We arrived at the historic Albergo Italia in Varallo where the lesson took place and were delighted to find not only Angela but the hotel owner's wife Ornella Marchi was also a lover of Puncetto. In the hotel lobby are some framed pieces as well as wood cut designs which imitate the lace and the dining room curtains all had inserts of Puncetto, each one different from all the others.

Different Puncetto motifs in coloured thread in the lobby of the Albergo Italia.

Wooden post with magnifying glass and Puncetto in the knob at the Albergo Italia.

We spent a delightful couple of hours together and Angela kindly corrected my mistakes and misconceptions and tirelessly showed me examples of all kinds of different situations. I wish I lived closer to her so I could go to her on a regular basis. She is the very best teacher!

Angela also told me that the instructional book that she and her association had written in 2009: A Scuola di Puncetto Valsesiano had finally been reprinted and was now available for purchase (see below). I know that many of my readers had been frustrated with it's lack of availability so you will no doubt be happy to know that you can now find it.

Of the three books that they have written, this is the one you want for getting started.

After coffee, we went along to their shop the Bottega Dell'Artigianato at Corso Umberto, no. 1 in Varallo (a short walk from the hotel) where there are all kinds of local artisan items for sale including Puncetto needle lace pieces.

The shop Bottega Dell'Artigianato in Varallo.

Coloured Puncetto on the apron of a traditional costume in the Bottega Dell'Artigianato.

Puncetto collar and yoke on the blouse of a traditional costume in the Bottega Dell'Artigianato.

I purchased four small pieces of Puncetto lace and the reprint of the manual. It was so difficult to choose, there were so many beautiful things!

Back at our home base in Prato Sesia, our hostess gifted me with an exquisite framed piece of Puncetto which she had hanging in her home.

Wonderful framed Puncetto hanging on the wall in Prato Sesia before it was given to me.

You can purchase A Scuola di Puncetto Valsesiano from Tombolo Disegni.

Thank you to Bianca Rosa for the use of her photo!

Puncetto News and a new book!

Second Volume,  2009

There is some good news for those of you who have been waiting for the reprinting of the second volume on Puncetto needle lace – copies are now available!

This is really the book you need if you want to get started with Puncetto needle lace. It has a how-to section which gradually instructs you on more and more complicated patterns as well as many patterns for complete pieces. The second printing has been held up for quite a long time and I'm glad to see that everything got worked out and that it is once again available.

The first volume is more advanced and provides patterns and instructions for using multiple colours in designs which are used in the local traditional costumes of this region found in the north of Italy near the Liechtenstein border.

First Volume,  2006

And now there is a third volume by the ladies of the Scuola di Puncetto Valsesiano which is very advanced featuring many different designs (I counted 70!). You can see some of the pages here. There are even some instructions on how to make the buttons found on traditional costume blouse cuffs!

Third Volume,  2013

I'm thrilled to see the inclusion of the pattern for the blue gentian flower that was part of the display at the 2011 Italia Invita Forum. There are other flowers and plants as well and rounded edges and motifs like this one from the back cover of the book:

I have been privileged to attend a few workshops with these talented ladies and I dream one day to take a "Puncetto Vacation" which the school offers for a week in August.

Tombolo Disegni tells me that they now have all of these volumes in stock.