An arachnid has been kind enough to send me some pictures of Czech lace. One of them, does in fact have the kind of background that I was describing. It resembles Valenciennes ground, but it is only made with two pairs, zig-zagging back and forth and sewing in. My corresondent says, however, that she has never seen figural lace on Czech folk costume, it being mostly very stylized. She asked me if I was sure it was Czech.
No, I am not sure it is Czech lace. It is supposed to be Flemish. The figures resemble William and Mary. However, the background is this braided mesh that is done with 2 pairs and sewings as in the Russian style. I mentioned this to Nora Andries and she said she did not believe it would be Flemish if the background was like this because the Flemish always used a lot of bobbins. She said it might be Italian with this kind of background. On spec I did an internet search on the the term wedding apron. It revealed that a wedding apron seems to be an Eastern European tradition. In fact there were even references to a wedding apron dance. It is the case that Italian techniques traveled to Eastern Europe and Russia. So, I guess I am exploring the possibility that it is a Flemish Apron in which the background is abnormally done, or an Italian Apron, or a Wedding Apron from an Eastern European country. A lot hinges on the zig-zag braid background. Has anyone else observed this phenomenon? The wedding apron concept relates to the fact that there are 3 loving couples on it with hearts and chains and other interesting paraphenalia. Incidentally, this is the same apron pictured in Elaine Merrit's piecework article, and the most recent OIDFA issue. Devon . - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
