FEATURE
island such as Lido, where one may be staying)
takes one to Burano in less than half an hour. This
island is instantly identified due to the colourful
homes of fishermen, and soon it is apparent that
each one is painted with a distinct colour! The
reason for this is that in times past, fishermen
could demarcate individual property by this
method and when they returned from the sea
and the fog hung heavy, each would be able to
identify his home by its colour.
STITCHES IN THE AIR
Historical accounts state that the art of
handmaking lace came to Burano from Venice
approximately in the 1620s and was made at
convents, orphanages, and homes by girls and
women. As the lace was not stitched on a fabric
but created on the base of the thread itself, it
came to be known as punto in aria, which means
‘stitches in the air’. Soon after, the lace became
one of the most prized possessions of the island,
and widely came to be known as ‘Burano lace’.
It is exquisite in its make, and features the beauty
of a fretted screen of intertwined and flowing
blossoms, buds, leaves, and stalks, which are
created by painstakingly working thousands of
neat, minute stitches.
Burano lacemaking follows several well-defined
steps. The pattern is drawn on paper and backed
with cloth. A transparent paper is placed on top,
and the layers are then tacked together. Most—or
all—of the pattern is then outlined with a gimp
thread (which is tacked through the pattern and
fabric) using the guipure stitch, which creates
the skeleton of the work. Subsequent stitches
are then rendered linking the guipure stitch and
LACEMAKING TRADITION
If this strikes you as charming, there is yet another
delightful legend. It is said that a fisherman who
was engaged to a young woman from the island
was out at sea, when a beautiful siren sought
to attract his attention. As he did not give into
her charms, the siren queen was impressed by
his faithfulness and swished her tail, sending up
a foamy wave that magically transformed into
a wedding veil. And when the fisherman took it
back for his bride-to-be, it caught the attention
of the women on the island, who recreated its
delicacy and beauty using needle and thread.
According to another anecdote, a fisherman
brought delicate seaweed from far for his beloved.
Realising that it would gradually disintegrate, the
woman recreated its ethereal beauty with needle
and thread and thus produced a piece of fine
lace filigree. Another legend has it that women on
Burano deftly mended nets for fishermen with fine
stitches and this practice led them to create the
lace that is today known globally.
BURANO LACEMAKING
FOLLOWS SEVERAL
WELL-DEFINED STEPS.
APPAREL
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