| use as well as for commercial purposes.
The Cyprus Handicraft Service, which is a department of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, has created new horizons for the study, preservation and development of Lefkara lace and has given employment to a significant number of embroiderers, many of whom are refugees.
Lefkara lace seems to have evolved from an older kind of Cypriot white embroidery the "asproploumia" which bears similarities to old Eastern Mediterranean embroideries. Nevertheless the Lefkara lace shows further enrichment and complexity in the stitches and the designs used. It has common characteristics to old Italian embroideries of the 16th century and this is due to the interaction of Venetian and Cypriot civilizations which happened when the island was under Venetian occupation.
Lefkara lace derives its name from the village of Lefkara which is the most important village for its production. This is where the most difficult and complex designs are made. At the end of the 19th century Lefkara was a well known production centre, and soon the first local merchants began to travel abroad to sell their lefkaritika. They travelled to Europe and later to America and Australia and sold their embroideries with success. Lefkara lace was also made in other areas as well such as Athienou and Kornos.
The old Lefkara embroideries were made on thick local cotton but later they were made on linen cloth from the Zodhia and Morphou area. Today, it is made on imported linen cloth using mercerized cotton thread.
The Lefkara lace is made by counting the threads of the fabric. This is why most shapes are strictly geometrical. The embroidery consists of (a) the designs which are embroidered over the cloth by using the satin stitch and (b) the cut and drawn designs which are made after cutting and drawing specific threads of the fabric.
Most designs have names describing objects from everyday life. For the satin-stitch designs there are names such as lanterns, crosses, forks, snails and daisies. For the cut and drawn designs names such as basket-lafe, eye-like and flea-like.
An important feature of the Lefkara lace is called "the river". It is a cut and drawn design and has a zig-zag shape. It runs parallel to the outside edges of the fabric. Its "arches" enclose triangular areas that are filled in with a variety of designs.
Another feature of the Lefkara lace are the designs made along the edges of the fabric. These are the "tsimbi", "closi" and "tsimbocloso". Another design which is no longer made is a kind of coarse lace. made by using the "bobbin-lace" technique common in Europe.
The Lefkara lace is used mainly for table-cloths, napkins, tray-cloths and curtains. In the past it decorated the various parts of the four-poster bed, i.e. hangings, sheets, pillow-cases, bedcovers and side and top curtains.
All these were part of the girl's dowry which was necessary for their future life. It was a form of artistic expression for them, which proved their skill and talent. It was a challenge which often resulted in the creation of real masterpieces of art and craftsmanship. |
