Burano Lace Museum Reopens

Burano Lace Museum under restoration in 2009

The Museo del Merletto on Burano in the lagoon of Venice re-opens it's doors tomorrow after years of restoration, reorganization and restructurization!

You can find the museum in the Podestà di Torcello in Piazza Galuppi at number 187 on the island of Burano. Take the Linea LN vaporetto from Fondamenta Nuova to get to Burano, it takes about 40 minutes.

Here is a translation of what is written about the opening exhibition:

The exhibition, organized for the inauguration, by Doretta Davanzo Poli [author and expert see a list of her publications here], features over 150 pieces of lace selected from the most significant collections of Venetian Civic Museums, as well as some paintings, engravings, drawings, documents, magazines, textiles and costumes from the 15th to the 20th centuries.

During the opening hours of the museum you can see the work of skilled and tireless lace masters, still custodians of an art passed down from generation to generation. 

The new museum guide will be available from the 27th of June in all the bookstores of the Fondazione Musei Civici.

Colourful houses on Burano

Burano is worth the trip without the museum but with the museum it would be exceptional! Beware of lace pieces with prices too good to be true... they are made in China!

You can check out a video made by master lacemaker Lucia Costantini in the Burano Lace Museum here.

Thanks to Vima for the heads-up!

Lacemaking with coloured threads

I was reading Mary Corbet's Needle n Thread blog about different types of threads which led me to remember that I was going to tell you about some different Italian threads but in the meantime I've been discussing needle lace making with coloured threads with Silvia of Dentelles d'abord. I see she's posted her lovely needle lace brooch done in coloured thread with a great how-to series of pictures so even if you don't understand Italian, you should be able figure out how you can make her covered buttons. While you're there, you should check out the rest of her blog, she's got some lovely pictures of needle laces.


Anyway... I wanted to tell you about Seta Reale by Coats Cucirini which does not seem to be part of the North American lineup of threads. I got mine from Italy though a Google search turns it up on the Coats UK website. (My spools came from Italy but were made in Hungary). I think maybe Silvia made her Sun needle lace piece with this thread but I haven't remembered to ask her... perhaps she'll comment here below.

If I understand correctly, this thread comes in two weights: 30 (which is the kind I have) and 100 which is extra fine. Available in 128 and 59 colours respectively means you can have all kind of fun! The UK website has a downloadable colour shade card.

If you've ever seen any of Lucia Costantini's laces, you'll know that coloured lace can be just as breathtaking as white lace.

I tried some pulled stitches and satin stitches (as I am no lacemaker!) with it and it glides through the fabric so smoothly and its so shiny!

I also tried some Antwerp (Punto Chiaro) stitches which look rather pretty - if only my stitching had better tension - I think it could be fun to stitch anything with this thread...

...I'd also like to try the finer weight... I'd like to have all the colours... Oh, I'm in trouble now!

I know Italian Needlecrafts has some of the 30 weight but I see that Elena hasn't had the time to put them up yet on her website, send her an email if you want to try some and let me know what you think!

Needle lace

I'm back from a glorious weekend immersed in needlework. I have wanted to take a class with Diane Clements for a long time. She does some beautiful needle lace!

As we were toiling away at our less-than-perfect samples I kept thinking about the beautiful laces that I've seen in Italy. My neck and back were aching after only one day - how must those lace makers feel? And in the days of old without ergonomic chairs and good lighting? It really gives you an appreciation for something when you sit in someone else's position.

Last year while in Italy I went to visit a master needle lace maker on the island of Burano, near Venice. Lucia Costantini invited us into her home and showed us her art. Oh, and it was definitely art.

The exquisite beauty of her pieces made the tears run down my cheeks and I couldn't speak. The work! Countless hours of creation, tiny little masterpieces, large colourful laces, scenes, marine life, symbology... I could have stayed there all day.

Lucia shows us how to make a couple of stitches working on her needle lace pillow:


This is a flower brooch made by Lucia:


My stitches will never be this beautiful but it is very nice to have a piece of this art to look at up close and admire!

Here you can watch Lucia go through the Museum of Lace on Burano. Even if you cannot understand the history of lace that she recounts, there are lace makers at work to watch and samples of different laces shown.

More of Lucia Costantini's lace art can be seen on the Tuttoricamo website, look under "Prominent Characters".

A Venetian Lacemaker is a small book about Lucia, Burano and needle lace by Vima deMarchi Micheli who brought Lucia to the U.S. to teach in the 1990s.

Here is the legend of Burano lace. On this page is also a link to the lace museum and how you can visit it.

If you go to Venice, you can catch a boat to Burano but beware! Chinese imitation lace is everywhere and will be cheap. If it's authentic, it will be expensive – though even expensive prices do not begin to cover the time, expertise and talent that goes into this amazing art.