Lacemaking in Malta

Abstract

The technique of producing ‘lace’ made its debut in Northern Italy, at the turn of the sixteenth century. This involved the weaving of threads by means of either needles or bobbins or both, according to a drawn pattern. During the seventeenth century, Maltese merchants travelled to the Iberian Peninsula with cotton goods. On their way they called at important ports such as Genoa in Italy, Marseilles in France and Barcelona in Spain, and picked up lace pieces that fetched good prices at the markets there. These merchants brought samples back home, and this enabled Maltese people to study the techniques, materials and tools used.