STITCHES IN THE AIR: DEMONSTATION NIGHT AT ARTS COUNCIL OFFERS GLIMPSE OF LACEMAKING

The delicacy and intricacy of lace might make lacemaking seem the most complicated of the sewing arts. Not so, says Lise Thomsen, a founding member of the Heartland Lace Guild.

"There are only two moves. If you can count to four you can make lace."

Of course, 10 hours of work are required to produce one square inch of the most intricate kinds.

At a recent demonstration night at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, Thomsen showed an audience of about 20 people those moves along with different types of lace and the tools used to make them.

Among them were machine-made lace, crocheted lace, knitted lace, embroidered lace, needle lace and a very delicate form called Battenburg lace. Another kind of lace is made by using a shuttle bobbin.

Lacemaking dates to the late 1500s, when it evolved into a cottage industry. Girls recruited at age 6 or 7 made lace in their home or the lace merchant's home and often spent their lives working the same pattern. That's why many of the patterns bear girls' names.

Lacemaking became a major industry throughout Europe and an important part of whole nations' economies. Lace was made by the poorest people in society for the richest, and demand outstripped supply because lace required so much labor.

A skilled lacemaker requires 300 hours to make a yard of the design called the Heart of Denmark.

The first needle lace evolved because skilled embroiderers wanted to leave less and less of the foundation fabric in the finished pieces. In Venice, one of the birthplaces of lace, this early needle lace was called Punto in Aria, which literally means "stitches in air."

Thomsen didn't learn how to make lace as a girl growing up in Denmark. She learned by taking classes in New Jersey. She and her husband, Thomas, now a mechanical engineer for Lonestar Industries, came to the U.S. 26 years ago.

Bobbin lace is made using a bobbin shuttle instead of a needle. Thomsen demonstrated the technique and helped members of the audience learn the simple "cross and twist" move. Complexity can be attained in the lace by using more bobbins.

Thomsen made both of her daughters' lace wedding gowns. She wants to teach others so lacemaking will not be lost.

"It mostly has become an old art," she says. "I feel it would be a shame for it to die out. It's important to keep learning about it."

Her collection of bobbins comes from around the world. In Europe, craftsman would create a new bobbin to commemorate almost every event, including hangings.

Bobbin-making also was a romantic gesture.

"The nicer the bobbins you carved, the better your chance with the pretty lacemakers," Thomsen explained.

At the demonstration night, she wore a copper wire necklace she made with the same weave she uses to make a wedding dress. She made lace cookies for treats.

"You can make lace out of anything," she said.

The Heartland Lace Guild is an organization of lacemakers that meets monthly in Paducah, Ky. The guild is planning to teach a beginners workshop in the spring. To contact the guild, phone 335-7487.

Demonstration night is held at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, 119 Independence, at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month. All kinds of arts are being explored. The February demonstration of ballroom dancing was made by Dr. Marc Strauss of Southeast Missouri State University. On March 14, the demonstration will be by blues guitarist Don Haupt of Cape Girardeau. The 24-year-old Haupt is a self-taught guitarist who performs in the Delta blues style he calls "hoppin' and slappin'."

DEMONSTRATION

Held the second Tuesday of every month at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, 119 Independence, Cape Girardeau

7 p.m.

Demomonstration topics vary.

For more information, call 334-9233.