There is a little town named Bobowa in Poland. It is situated in Old Galicia, south-east of Krakow. There is not much more than a few streets, two churches, an old synagogue and a main square. But there is also something that you do not see at a first sight – the old tradition of bobbin lace making. It is not widely known today, but this beautiful handicraft art is still practiced there.

Each year, in the beginning of October, ‘The International Bobbin Lace Festival’ takes place in Bobowa. It is an amazing experience for everyone who loves handicraft and especially this unique technique of bobbin lace making.
I was there this year and I am still enchanted by what I had seen, so I decided to share with you a little piece of it.
What I liked most were the Croatia laces. See some of them below:





Russian laces was another style which was also very beautiful and so delicate (made with thin silk thread) that I loved them so much and bought a pattern of one of them. Now I enjoy making it.






Bobbin lace making technique is different in each country. Sometimes you need no more than a dozen bobbins, sometimes it takes hundreds of bobbins! Sometimes pillows are flat and sometimes they have a barrel shape. Here you can see the very skillful hands of a lacemaker from Great Britain (and her pillow):
During the festival it was also possible to see an exhibition of photos of some lacemakers of Bobowa, who still keep the tradition of bobbin laces making in Poland alive. It was also possible to see old traditional patterns. Here you can see two of them:


There were also artists from Hungary, Netherlands, Finland, Estonia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Germany, Belgium and Poland of course (I hope I did not overlook anybody).
It was incredible to see the variety of laces. It is impossible to describe them all, but you can enjoy some more pictures:










When I was there I felt that the only thing which limits us in making beautiful things is our imagination. If you can imagine what you want to do, you will find a way and create it.
I wish good luck and great imagination to everyone who loves and creates any kind of handicraft.
For those of you who want to learn basics and keep the unique technique alive we prepared special proposal: https://polishorigins.com/document/bobbin_laces .
Magdalena
PolishOrigins Team