Mirjam's World - Tutorials - Slovenian Bobbin Lace

The beginnings of lace making in Slovenia go back to the 16-century. At the beginning it
was known and used only in castles and monasteries. The first lace makers were found in
the Slovenian capitol of Ljubljana and were making Venetian and Flandrian lace.
European influences as well as native Slovenian traditions can be found in Slovenian lace.

The lace that became known as typical Slovenian lace is Idrija lace. Idrija is a small mining
town northwest of the capitol Ljubljana. Czech and German families working in the mine or
its headquarters brought the craft of lace making to this town. Basically, it was an
appropriate activity in a culture not dependent on agriculture for survival. The Idrija lace is
now registered as a trademark, and care is being taken to preserve the craft itself. The
Idrija lace proper was established in the 1870's when the Lace making School was opened
and famous teacher Ivana Ferjan invented lace-making technique with just seven pairs of
bobbins. This Lace making School in Idrija still exists and continues with the tradition as
well as develops new patterns and techniques. It takes twelve years and includes more
than 120 different methods and of course countless hours of practice to learn all the
elements of lace making.