Elets Lace

a type of handmade Russian lace. The city of Elets (in Lipetsk Oblast) is the center of the lace industry, which sprang up in the early 19th century. Elets lace (“paired” and “coupled”) is woven on bobbins, chiefly from white spool thread, less often from linen, silk, or (since the mid-20th century) synthetic thread. It is distinguished by the gentle contrast of the small design (plant and geometric) and the delicate, open-work ground. Since 1960, Elets lace has been made in the Elets Combine of Decorative Articles (yard laces and lace collars, gloves, and so on). The combine’s leading artists are P. G. Petrova and V. I. Grigor’eva.