Vologda Lace

a variety of Russian lace, plaited on bobbins; widespread in Vologda Oblast, RSFSR. The continuous and nonintersected smooth line that forms the pattern of Vologda lace lies like a plaited ribbon (viliushka) on a fine open-work net background (the so-called coupling technique).

Vologda lace-making started in the 16th and 17th centuries, but it became a handicraft industry only in the first quarter of the 19th century. In the Soviet period the women lace-makers formed artels, which became the Vologda Lace Union in 1930; in 1960 they organized the Snezhinka Vologda Lace Association. They produce lace by the yard, bedspreads, curtains, and napkins, as well as original exhibition models based on designs by such artists as A. A. Korableva and M. A. Guseva. Female craftsmen include V. D. Veselova, M. N. Grunicheva, V. N. El’fina, K. V. Isakova, E. la. Khumala, V. N. Panteleeva, and V. V. Sibirtseva.