Nathalie, you are exactly right. Mezzo Punto was also known as half-point where half the work utilized a pre-made cloth tape, either woven or bobbin made with the remainder consisting of needlelace fillings. It dates back to Milan and Genoa in the seventeenth century surprisingly.
I discovered this when researching my book; The Borris Lace Collection: A Unique Irish Needlelace, Marie Laurie and Annette Meldrum, Milner Craft Series, 2010. Borris Lace is a Mezzo Punto style lace now more commonly known as tape or braid lace. Point lace was another name used but one which causes confusion so is seldom used these days. Regards Annette Meldrum in sunny but cold NSW, Australia -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Nathalie Sent: Monday, 23 August 2010 10:07 PM Cc: [email protected] Subject: [lace] The meaning of Mezzo Punto I'm assuming that Mezzo Punto refers to mixed or half stitch? So I would be inclined to think it's because it is a lace made with a bobbin tape and needle decorations? Mezzo means half in Italian, or am I wrong? Thank you in advance. Nathalie - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected] - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]
