Russian lace of Vologda

Panel de encaje de B. Beselova, 1967

I've been interested in Russian bobbin lace for many years. The fact that there is so little information about it in my country, makes it even more attactive to me. It is a challenge trying to make it correctly and finding interesting patterns.

Quite briefly, what we usually call "Russian bobbin lace" is a continuous tape lace (that is, we start and end at the same place) and normally a fixed number of bobbins are needed. The tapes make curves forming flowers or other motifs to fill the space. When one tape touches another, it is joined with a crochet hook.

Scarf made by Nieves García

After having got in touch with a few Russian bobbin lacers and after having read quite a few books on Russian lace, I think I know fairly well its characteristics. So, it's time to start working. Some colleagues from "Mi Pequeño Taller" and me decided to make a scarf. We like to use the lace we make and not keep it in a drawer. So, a scarf seemed the ideal piece: neither too big, nor too small, and wearable. 

But we needed a pattern. Finding it was complicated... but we finally  got the inspiration from a panel made in 1967 by the Russian lacer B. Beselova, and adapted it to our necessities, reducing the number of repeats and making a long row of them.

And this is the result, a few months later.

Scarf made by Antje González, still on the pillow