Handmade Chinese Tatting and Bobbin Lace Yardage

Chinese Tatting and Bobbin lace is a tradition in China started by the Missionaries of the 1800's. The history of how the missionaries brought the idea of training the indiginent people in needlework arts began with the Catholic Nuns who helped during the Irish Potato famine. It was during this time that the nuns observed how the promotion of the craft of Irish Crochet Lace helped support many families of the parish. It was such a success that the nuns took the idea with them to foreign countries, training the native women how to crochet, make tatting and bobbin lace as well as many different styles of embroideries as a means of supporting their families. Today you can still see the businesses left by the missionaries proud training in the ethnic traditions of lacemaking and embroidery work in Bali, China, India and the Phillipines.

One of my friends attacked my political standing of selling this lace by pointing out that she never bought things from China since the terror of Tienniman Square where everyone who was rounded up were sent to prison where they still labor on products sold to America. I told her the story that was told to me by one of my customers who had grown up in China in the 1920s. This very fine lady told me about how she remembered the lace merchants walking up the hill to her parents' home carrying baskets of handmade lace on each arm. Her mother would buy the lace and everyone was made happy. I do have to say that the very fine work I sell is done by villagers in China who are obviously trained lace makers and not manufactured by the forced prison labor. (I saw some quilts at a Chinese importers that were obviously not made with love. The quilting stitches were poorly done and uneven and ranged to about 4 stitches to the inch.)

The threads used to make these laces are very fine quality DMC cordonnet.

Chinese Tatting - color is white unless indicated


#014 5/8" $4.50 yard Yardage requested	#019 1/2" $2.75 yard Yardage requested

#202 1/2" $3.50 yard Yardage requested	#214 1/4" $2.50 yard Yardage requested

#026 5/8" $3.75 Yardage requested	#021 1" Edging $4.50 yard Yardage requested