Vologda lace is known for its exquisite beauty and unique patterns far beyond the country's borders. Lacemakers spend many hours of painstaking work with bobbins to weave airy patterns and ornaments, creating unique products - napkins, tablecloths, hats, capes, umbrellas, capes and much more.
In the article we will tell you where this type of art came from in Rus', how the work is performed by lacemakers, what a novice craftsman needs to know about bobbin weaving, what materials need to be prepared in order to start making even simple lace items.
The art of weaving Vologda lace requires perseverance, manual dexterity, patience and accuracy in work. Even a small mistake can ruin the appearance of the product. That is why craftsmen use a special pattern called skolok. We’ll tell you how to create it and work with it a little later, but now a few words about the history of Vologda lace.
Traditions
French and Italian masters invented thread weaving back in the 16th century. Such products were brought to our country by Russian princes who were fascinated by airy lace. The tradition of making wicker patterns was continued by craftsmen from the Vologda province. The first mention of Vologda lace dates back to 1820. The serf craftswomen made decorations for clothing and linen for the landowners.
At first, women copied the patterns of Western masters, but over time they began to embody their own creative ideas in lace. The number of masters grew every year, as did the popularity of such art. Factories were opened that produced products for sale in St. Petersburg and Moscow.
The technique of weaving Vologda lace began to be taught in specialized educational institutions and was passed on from generation to generation. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the artists' works have been exhibited at exhibitions in Paris and Brussels and won gold medals at various competitions.
With the advent of the Internet, anyone can learn how to make Vologda lace. Let us also consider the basics of this folk art. First, let’s find out how this lace differs from any other.
Uniqueness of technology
The main feature of Vologda lace is the presence of a clear separation of the pattern and the background. The ornament consists of smooth, wide curves, reminiscent of a ribbon that winds in a continuous line without intersecting anywhere. These can be images of flowers, birds, animals and even coats of arms or temples. The background remains airy, weightless, and very gentle. As a result, the products are voluminous and expressive.
Folk crafts of Vologda lace are recognizable by the weaving of long braid, which is fastened with “hitches” or “lattices”. Their masters perform them separately with regular crochet. Such laces are called "coupling" laces. Drawings using this technique are more varied. These are not only flowers or floral designs, but also all sorts of fantastic creatures, geometric shapes, images of people and buildings. For weaving, only 6 to 12 pairs of wooden bobbins (thread holders) are used. For woven lace products you will need much more (60 or more).
There are craftsmen - "mernitsy" - who make lace, creating both a pattern and a background at the same time. This is already a “pair” weaving. It is often represented by simple measured pieces of lace. The required amount is cut from the roll to decorate clothes. The patterns in paired lace are simple, mostly rhombuses, triangles, circles and other shapes.
Background elements
There are several options for filling the background for lace:
- “Baskets” are parts consisting of dense ovals or squares that fill the voids between the bends of the braid.
- “Pleteshki” is a pattern consisting of thin laces woven into an openwork lattice.
- The twisted loops on the “braids” are twisted threads that give the background more airiness.
Necessary materials
To work with lace you need to prepare various devices and materials. The threads used are dense and natural. This is cotton or linen.
The main tool for creating the product is bobbins. These are turned or carved wooden sticks, the lower part of which is thickened, and the top has a compartment for winding thread. Each pattern requires a different number of bobbins, so it’s better to buy a whole set (from 60 pieces and above). They are made from maple or apple, spruce or viburnum. Juniper trees will last a long time.
Weaving is done on kuftyr. This is a roller (tube made of fabric) shaped like a cylinder. For convenience, it is located on a stand - a hoop. Fill the roller with straw, sawdust or oat husks.
The finished pattern of a thread pattern is called a skolok. It is drawn on white or colored paper and attached to the roller with pins. Thin "nails" or pins with a bead at the end will hold the threads in place as you work. You will need more than one hundred of them, so don’t skimp on them. Also, to tie the braid with a background, you will need a crochet hook, 0.5-0.8 mm in size.
Pieces of Vologda lace
This is a graphic representation of the future canvas. Without such a weaving pattern it is impossible to make lace. Previously, the entire village collected funds for such drawings, carefully kept them and passed them on from mother to daughter. Now everything is much simpler. A piece of Vologda lace can simply be copied from the Internet and printed on a printer.
For storage, you can attach it to cardboard and put a sheet of tracing paper on top. This will significantly increase its service life, and the white threads will not get dirty during operation. The chip must be life-size. The connection points between the lines in the diagram are where the pins are placed.
How to draw a chip yourself
First, a line is sketched with a simple pencil, which, without intersecting anywhere, forms a continuous pattern. Try making a square napkin. The exact dimensions are not important here, as, for example, when weaving a collar or headdress.
To create an even, wide ribbon, use a poster pen. Trace the line carefully using black ink. This will help you understand how the pattern on the product will look. Then the tape is transferred to another paper through tracing paper using two lines, and traditional broken lines and dots are manually placed between them on which pins will be pinned. Zigzags convey the movement of a pair of bobbins inside the canvas.
Winding thread onto bobbins
Preparation for work includes winding threads onto wooden bobbins. They only work in pairs, but the thread is wound alternately.
Let's take a closer look at how this is done:
- Holding one of the paired bobbins in your right hand, press the thread to the narrow place of the wooden stick with your left hand.
- A couple of turns are made to strengthen the end of the thread.
- Then they perform rotational movements with the bobbin so that the thread is evenly wound over the entire surface of the neck. At this time, use your fingers to check the uniformity of tension and its distribution along the entire length.
- 3 meters of thread will be enough. At the end, a loop is made on which the stick will firmly hold during operation.
- Next, you need to unwind the same number of threads from the skein and cut off the edge with scissors.
- Its continuation is similarly wound onto the neck of another stick.
- When 20 cm of thread remains between the bobbins, a loop is made and the second stick is securely fastened.
Roller preparation
Before starting work, the chip is strengthened onto the roller. To do this, use thick cardboard that matches the size of the future lace. To prevent it from falling off the jacket, you need to strengthen it with pins on all four sides. Then the chip itself is attached to the prepared cardboard. Next comes the painstaking work of pricking pins into all available points.
Securing a pair of bobbins
The fastening loop ensures free operation of the bobbins in pairs; it firmly fixes the winding. To make it, you need to hold the stick in one hand and pull the thread well with your thumb. The bobbin is wound under it, and the upper part is pulled through the loop to tighten it. All bobbins are strengthened in this way, but the arc is not made long so that the bobbin does not hang below the kuftyr. You need to leave about 15 cm. While working, hold the stick by the middle of the lower handle; do not touch the threads with your hands so that they do not get dirty.
Lace weaving techniques
Before starting work on creating lace, practice the technique of weaving the threads together. A pair of bobbins are hung on a nail from the middle of the thread. Another nail with the next pair of bobbins is attached nearby. Two pairs of sticks with threads take part in the weaving work. All patterns are created by weaving threads together. This happens by dragging the bobbin from one place to another.
Let's look at two basic techniques for working with threads:
- Toss or twist. The movement always begins with the right bobbin. The thread from the right side is shifted over the thread of the left stick in a pair. Over time, you should learn to do this movement with one hand, using only your thumb. In job descriptions, such a transfer is designated by the block letter “P.” There may be several turns, then the description will indicate “P-P-P”. This means that the thread is thrown over 3 times.
- Cross. Indicated in the pattern description by the letter "C". This technique consists of shifting the middle thread of the left bobbins onto the middle thread of the right ones. The outer threads remain even; they are not yet involved in the work. The bobbins are held with both hands, with a pair of sticks in each. This weaving technique is usually performed after throwing. The description will indicate "P-S". Make sure that the movement is from left to right, that is, the thread on the left should lie on top of the thread on the right. Also, keep the same thread tension in all options.
After reading the master class on Vologda lace, be sure to try to make a light pattern, practice winding the thread onto bobbins, making a fastening loop, throwing and crossing the threads among themselves. Over time, learn to complete small tasks. The matter is not very simple, so you will have to be patient. Good luck!
Vologda lace: past, present, futureLace is an amazing creation of human imagination, which originated as a type of decorative decoration of fabric products and over time enriched the sphere of art, striking with the luxury of openwork patterns and weaves.
Lace is divided into needle-sewn and bobbin lace. Initially, in Europe, embroidered lace belonged to the aristocracy, and bobbin lace was common among the people.
It is interesting that in the history of Russian bobbin lace there is a similar division. Some laces had an aristocratic character, while others had a folk character. The first were imitation of foreign models, and the second, which were in use among the people, turned out to be so original that it is difficult to determine the history of their origin.
The history of the appearance and development of lace is full of mysteries and contradictions.
Italy and Flanders are considered the most ancient centers of lace making. From them all other European countries learned lace making.
There is a legend that in 1725 Peter I ordered 250 lacemakers from the Brabant monasteries to teach orphans how to weave lace in the Novodevichy Convent. How long this training existed in the monastery is unknown. But what’s interesting is that in the samples of lace preserved in different parts of Russia, and in the names of these laces, many old lacemakers pointed to “Draban (i.e. Brabant) thread.”
Vologda lace
“No center of the lace industry in Russia enjoyed such great fame as the city of Vologda and its humble inhabitants,” wrote Sofya Davydova in her famous study “Russian lace and Russian lacemakers.”
It is still unknown when the art of lace weaving arose in the vast Vologda region, and why this craft turned out to be so beloved and popular in the North, specifically on the Vologda lands.
Perhaps the predetermining factors were the developed flax growing and trade routes that ran here from north to south and brought the influence of foreign fashion, which took on its national forms on Russian soil.
Lace making as a craft has existed in the Vologda province since 1820. Official research (by S.A. Davydova) has established that during serfdom, in all significant landowner estates of the province there were lace “factories” that supplied lace products to St. Petersburg and Moscow.
And one of these factories was founded by the landowner Zasetskaya three miles from Vologda in the village of Kovyrino no later than the 20s of the 19th century. There, serfs wove the finest lace for finishing dresses and linen, imitating Western European patterns.
Over time, lace weaving moved from landowner workshops to the people and became one of the types of folk art that reflected the needs and tastes of wide circles of the local population.
A little later, Anfiya Fedorovna Bryantseva developed a remarkable activity in Vologda. The talented craftswoman came up with the happy idea of combining thick “Belozersky” style canvas with wicker latticework.
This is how the famous, and now fashionable, “Vologda manner” came about. Anfiya, together with her daughter Sophia, developed a number of original lace designs and samples, introduced small and large lace items into use, such as talmas, capes, entire costumes, etc. They also taught lace making to over 800 urban and rural girls and women.
Lace- an ancient form of decorative and applied art. Data from archaeology, art history and writing suggest that lace making was known to the Greeks and Egyptians even before our era. At the end of the 15th – beginning of the 16th centuries it became quite widespread in Europe. It was produced in many countries around the world. Italy occupied first place in this industry for a long time, but after some time it had to give up leadership to France and Flanders.
In Russia, the first information about lace date back to the 13th century. The Ipatiev Chronicle tells how in 1252 Prince Daniil Galitsky received foreign ambassadors in rich clothes with amazing trimmings reminiscent of lace. But they became a noticeable phenomenon in everyday life in Russia in the 17th century. Moreover lace products were common at the royal court, and among merchants and peasants. Only their quality, of course, was different.
Although it's hard to say at what times lace making became known in the Russian North. One can only assume that its appearance in the Vologda region was associated with the discovery in the 16th century. Northern Sea Route. If this is indeed the case, then lace came to Vologda through the Northern Dvina, the White Sea and the Sukhona along with goods that were imported from Western Europe. Be that as it may, the earliest examples of local lace-making preserved in museum collections date back to the 17th century. This is the so-called “golden” lace made of gold and silver threads. They were sold by weight, taking into account, first of all, the value of precious metals, and not the craftsmanship. This lace was used to decorate outfits made of dense expensive fabrics - brocade, velvet, patterned silk. They were also used for decorating church utensils.
During the reign of Peter I, lace-makers were sent to Russia from abroad. The fashion for this craft led to the fact that many wives of Russian nobles began to study the techniques of working with bobbins, and organized workshops in their estates where serf peasant women weaved lace. Women's monasteries also became famous for their skill in this matter. By the end of the 18th century. The artistic features of Russian lace-making centers were formed. Such centers were Rostov, Galich, Vologda, Kalyazin, Torzhok, Balakhna, Ryazan. In 1820, landowner V.A. Zasetskaya established the first lace factory near Vologda in the village of Kovyrino. In the second half of the 19th century. lace making quickly spread in the central districts of the Vologda province: in Kadnikovsky, Gryazovets and Vologda. This was facilitated by several circumstances: after serfdom was abolished, peasants had a freer choice of occupation, and the demand for lace increased. Their production brought additional income to peasant families. It also turned out to be very important that the materials needed for weaving lace were inexpensive. Craftswomen do not require specially equipped premises. In fine summer weather they can also work outdoors. If necessary, it will not be difficult for them to move to another place. You can engage in this craft in your free time from working on land.
In 1893, in the Vologda province, 4 thousand lacemakers were engaged in the lace trade, and in 1912 there were about 40 thousand of them. Of these, 20% were teenage girls. They began learning the craft at the age of 5–7. There were frequent cases when boys were engaged in lace making.
Finished products reached St. Petersburg and Moscow through resellers. In the capital's stores Vologda lace was highly valued. There were also cases where they were sold as foreign, thereby increasing the cost. But tricks of this kind were unnecessary; in terms of their merits, the products of craftswomen from the Vologda province were not inferior to foreign samples.
In 1920, the handicraft section of the Northern Union was founded, and lace makers united in artels. By this time, about 70 thousand were engaged in this trade. In 1928, a vocational school was created in the city of Vologda; it had no small significance in the development of the industry. She trained instructors and craftswomen in lace making. It developed most types of lace lattices and unusual examples of modern products. This is what distinguished Vologda from other centers of the lace industry; for it it was not a small benefit. In 1930, all artels located on the territory of 8 districts (Vologda, Chebsarsky, Ust-Kubinsky, Kharovsky, Gryazovetsky, Sokolsky, Kubenoozersky, Lezhsky) were united, and a single Vologda Lace Union was formed. In 1876 Vologda lace at the international exhibition in Philadelphia received high praise. In 1893 they were demonstrated with great success in Chicago. At exhibitions in Brussels (1958) and Paris (1925) they were awarded a Gold Medal. In 1937, at the Paris Exhibition they were awarded the Grand Prix award.
Russian lace is original, diverse in subjects and execution techniques. But among them there are some who are special. More often than not, it is the products of Vologda lacemakers that we strongly associate with the word “lace.” And this is not without reason - the history of this fishery in the Vologda region is rooted in the distant past and has been striking us with its elegance for several centuries. So, let’s get acquainted: Vologda lace!
Vologda lace production began at the end of the 18th century, when Russian lace-making centers were formed and began to develop in various regions of Russia: Galich, Rostov, Balakhna, Kalyazin, Torzhok, Ryazan. And - Vologda!
The first lace factory here was created in 1820 by landowner V.A. Zasetskaya in the village of Kovyrino near Vologda, from where in the second half of the 19th century. lace making quickly spread throughout all the central districts of the Vologda province. And this was facilitated by... the abolition of serfdom: peasant women became more free in choosing their occupation, they were more involved in handicrafts and weaving lace for sale. This production brought additional income to the peasant family. Moreover, lace making does not require any special investments: both lace threads and equipment were inexpensive and anyone could purchase or make them. No special premises were required - in the summer the lace was woven right on the street. Yes, and you can engage in this craft in fits and starts, in your free time from work on earth.
Gradually, lace making became very popular: in 1893, in the Vologda province, 4 thousand lacemakers were engaged in lace making, and in 1912 – already about 40 thousand. According to statistics of those years, a significant part of them were teenage girls. They usually began learning the craft at the age of 5–7 years and by the age of 12–14 they became very experienced craftswomen. But often men also wove lace.
But how highly valued Vologda lace was in the capital’s stores! Cunning traders initially passed them off as foreign in order to increase profits. But this was unnecessary - in terms of their characteristics, the products of Vologda craftswomen were not at all inferior to European ones. In 1876, Vologda lace deservedly received high praise at the international exhibition in Philadelphia. They were demonstrated with no less success in 1893 in Chicago.
The October Revolution undermined the lace industry. But very soon, in 1920, a handicraft section of the Northern Union was founded in Vologda, the purpose of which was to develop the crafts of the peoples of the North in the new socialist conditions. All lacemakers, and by this time there were already about 70 thousand of them, were united in an artel, and a vocational school was founded, which trained craftswomen and instructors in lacemaking. It was in those years that many new patterns and weaving techniques were developed, stories were created for lace products that embodied dreams of a new country.
At exhibitions in Paris (1925) and Brussels (1958), Vologda lace was awarded Gold medals. The highest award, the Grand Prix, was awarded to him at the Paris Exhibition in 1937.
What is the secret of the success of Vologda lace? Since ancient times, lacemakers have woven it by hand, using wooden bobbins, a pin with a pattern, and a special pillow on a stand. The splinter (the pattern according to which the design is woven) is the embodiment of the lacemaker’s skill.
According to the technique of execution, modern Vologda lace belongs to “coupling” lace. In this type of lace, the main elements of the pattern are woven with a long braid, and then connected to each other with special “hitches” and “lattices”, made separately, using a crochet hook. This technique is used in the manufacture of scarves, collars, capes, tablecloths, bedspreads, curtains, and panels.
But there were also craftswomen - “mernitsy”, who wove the so-called. “paired” or “measured” lace, in which the pattern was woven simultaneously with the background, which made it possible to obtain arbitrarily long strips of lace, from which sections of the required length were measured (hence the name).
It is clear that the patterns in chain lace are more varied than in paired lace. These can be geometric shapes, and motifs of flora and fauna (Christmas trees, flowers, fish, birds, deer, lions, peacocks), and fantastic creatures (Sirin birds, unicorns), and natural phenomena (northern lights), and human figures (ladies, gentlemen, horsemen, peasant women in kokoshniks and sundresses), and architectural structures (churches, towers, bridges, gazebos, palaces), and technological achievements (tower cranes, airplanes, spacecraft). Yes, yes, the products of Vologda lacemakers of the 1930s even featured tractors and airplanes - after all, just like their great-grandmothers, they wanted to embody the world that surrounded them in lace.
For a long time, paired lace predominated in Vologda; it accounted for approximately 2/3 of the total volume of production. A great contribution to the development of coupling lace was made by the masters of the lace school (VKS), which opened in Vologda in 1928. So in the 1930s, artist Anna Aleksandrovna Perova-Nikitina and industrial training instructor Kapitolina Vasilievna Isakova developed more than 100 grids for coupling lace. This invention changed the appearance of the coupling lace: it became openwork, since the lattice could now play a leading role in the design. In addition, it was in this way that it was possible to create products combined with fabric, large large objects sewn from many parts.
In 1936, an art laboratory was created at the Volkruzhevoyuz (there was such an organization!), where numerous lacemakers and artists worked on the range, quality, and technology of weaving lace products. Techniques common to all Vologda lace acquire an individual coloring in the work of each master. Thus, the works of K.V. herself. Isakova is developing a chamber lyrical direction. Tenderness and warmth of the images distinguish her panel “Deer”, created in 1968.
A.A. Korableva, an employee of the Scientific Research Institute of the Art Industry (NIIHP), made a great contribution to the development of the craft. She created large stitched works that became landmarks in the development of the industry: the panel “House in Gori” (1949, for the anniversary of I.V. Stalin), the curtain “Jubilee” (1954, for the 300th anniversary of the reunification of Ukraine and Russia ), curtain “Russian Motifs” (1958, at the World Exhibition in Brussels it rightfully received the highest award “Grand Prix”), panel “Sputnik” (1959), panel “Aurora” (1970), panel "Moscow Construction Sites" (1970), etc.
Another well-known name in Vologda is V.D. Veselova, born into a family of hereditary lacemakers. Her mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and, possibly, distant ancestors were engaged in this trade. A family legend has been preserved that Vera Dmitrievna’s grandmother wove stockings and umbrellas for the royal court to a special order. And the granddaughter’s most famous work is the “Rook” tablecloth, in which the craftswoman embodied the poetry of the image, the completeness of the design and her skill as a lacemaker.
But the most famous product of Vologda lacemakers is undoubtedly the “Snowflake” tablecloth (by V.N. Elfin), which has become the hallmark of the entire lace industry. And it is no coincidence that the lace association “Snezhinka”, created in Vologda in 1964 and which remains the center of lace production to this day, owes its name to it. Now hundreds of lacemakers work here, continuing to create exquisite lace patterns from the finest threads. After all, even in our computer age, lace remains in demand.
The works of these craftswomen, like dozens of others, are presented in the Lace Museum that opened in Vologda. If you are lucky enough to visit these parts, be sure to stop by. You will not regret. After all, Vologda can rightfully be called the lace capital of Russia.
Photo materials from the Vologda Folk Crafts website were used in the preparation.
In contact with
The richness and variety of patterns, purity of lines, measured rhythms of ornaments, high craftsmanship - such is his artistic originality.
Vologda lace has a special original beauty. The development of the ornamental art of lace was greatly influenced by wood carving patterns, weaving patterns, and ancient embroidery. Especially the openwork embroidery “Vologda glass” with various “snowflakes” and “spiders” on end-to-end backgrounds.
Guide to Russian Crafts, CC BY-SA 3.0This embroidery was mainly used in the Vologda district, and it was in this territory that the craft developed especially intensively. The Vologda lace ornament is characterized by softly curved smooth lines of the design; it is always graphically clear, rhythmic and can consist of geometric figures or generalized plant forms.
Manitou, GNU 1.2 To make Vologda lace you need: a cushion cushion, bobbins, juniper or birch pins, a pattern. A typical material for Vologda lace is linen, bleached or gray.
In the 17th century, lacemakers mastered the technique of weaving lace using silver and gold threads made from drawn wire or from a silk core thread entwined with a metal thread.
A little history
Vologda lace making dates back to the 16th-17th centuries, but as a craft it has existed since the first quarter of the 19th century. Initially, it is believed that lace originated in Europe, and Italy and Flanders are considered the most ancient centers of lace making.
Manitou, GNU 1.2 According to official research (by S. A. Davydova), it was established that during serfdom, in all significant landowner estates of the province there were lace “factories” that supplied lace products to St. Petersburg and Moscow.
I. Martynov, N. Cherkasov, CC BY-SA 3.0 And one of these factories was founded by the landowner Zasetskaya three miles from Vologda in the village of Kovyrino no later than the 20s of the 19th century. There, serfs wove the finest lace for finishing dresses and linen, imitating Western European patterns.
Over time, lace weaving moved from landowner workshops to the people and became one of the types of folk art that reflected the needs and tastes of wide circles of the local population.
In 1893, in the Vologda province, 4,000 craftswomen were engaged in lace making, in 1912 - 40,000. In 1928, a vocational school for lacemakers was created in Vologda. In 1930, the Vologda Lace Union was created. In 1935 - an art laboratory at the Vologda Lace Union.
Semenov.m7, CC BY-SA 3.0 In the 30s of the 20th century, images reflecting Soviet reality appeared in lace. In 1960, the Vologda lace association “Snezhinka” was organized.
On November 3, 2010, the Lace Museum opened in Vologda, in the building of the former State Bank on Kremlin Square, 12. The total area of the museum is 1400 m², and the exhibition area is 600 m². The main exhibition presents more than 500 items telling about the foundation and development of this traditional artistic craft of the Vologda region.
Photo gallery
Helpful information
Vologda lace
Trim for dresses and lingerie
The beginning of the craft dates back to 1820, when near Vologda, on the estates of landowners, serfs began to weave trims for dresses and linen, imitating Western European ones.
Until the 40s. of the last century, measured lace for finishing linen predominated, later piece products became the main ones - runners, napkins, elegant removable parts of women's clothing - collars, frills, capes, scarves, ties and gloves.
Lace was also used to decorate and still decorate dresses, tablecloths, napkins and furniture.
Pattern elements
All the main images in interlocking Vologda lace are made with dense, continuous, equal in width, smoothly wriggling linen braid, “wilyushka”.
They stand out clearly against the background of patterned lattices, decorated with “patterns” in the form of stars and rosettes.
Floral patterns are dominated by motifs of flexible branches with loop-shaped leaves, trefoils, round or elongated petaled and palmate flowers, fan-shaped motifs, and horseshoe-shaped figures.
Arrangement of patterns
Patterns on products are usually located around the circumference with wide borders with a free or ornament-filled middle, go along the perimeter of the product, are collected in stripes of different widths, and can be distributed throughout the openwork background.
Compositions are often built from mirror-symmetrical motifs, giving the lace austerity and a special static quality. A distinctive feature of Vologda lace is the wide variety of background lattices.
Ornament
A distinctive feature of traditional Vologda paired lace is a clear division of the “structure” of the lace into a pattern and a background.
As a result, large and smooth forms of the ornament are very expressively highlighted by a continuous line, even in width throughout the entire pattern.
In early Vologda lace, stylized images of birds, trees of life and other ancient motifs characteristic of embroidery of more ancient origin varied as the leading ornament.
Today Vologda lace is distinguished by a variety of ornaments, monumental forms and a predominance of floral motifs.
Vologda Museum-Reserve
You can get acquainted with specimens of Vologda lace in the Vologda Museum-Reserve, the Vologda Lace Museum, the All-Russian Museum of Decorative, Applied and Folk Arts, as well as in the museum of the Snezhinka lace company.
Awards
Vologda lace has repeatedly received the highest awards at exhibitions: a gold medal at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris in 1925, the Grand Prix in Paris in 1937, a gold medal in Brussels in 1958. At the same time, at an exhibition in Brussels, awarded the highest award - the Grand Prix of the Vologda lace curtain “Russian motives”.
