Children learning Boobin Lace

Lace making has always been an impressive cultural tradition within Europe. Although it is impossible to accurately date its emergence, iconographic evidence points to the period of the late 15th to early 16th century, when techniques of decorating textiles were being employed that led to the appearance of lace. It is believed that the etymology of the word renda (the Portuguese for “lace”) can be traced from the Catalan word «randa», of Saxon origin, meaning edge or border. Perfected during the Renaissance, lace, whether made with bobbins or needles, belongs to a mixed heritage of techniques, fashions and designs.