Peles museum hosts workshops on the art of tatting

The Peles Museum and the Japan Embassy in Romania will offer locals and tourists in Sinaia this fall several workshops on how to do handmade lace using thread or silk shuttles. The workshops are hosted by Japanese master Yusai Shokoin, who will teach the art of tatting – one of the finest handmade laces in the world.

Tatting represents a technique for handcrafting a particularly durable lace constructed by a series of knots and loops. Tatting can be used to make lace edging as well as doilies, collars, and other decorative pieces. The lace is formed by a pattern of rings and chains formed from a series of cow hitch, or half-hitch knots, called double stitches (ds), over a core thread. Gaps can be left between the stitches to form picots, which are used for practical construction as well as decorative effect.

One of the promoters of the lace art was Queen Elisabeth of Romania herself, who excelled at doing different models of laces using the shuttles. Together with her friend Lady Katharin Hoare, she wrote a book entitled “The Art of Tatting”, which appeared in London in 1910, used especially for promoting this fine handmade art. The cover of this book was a piece of clothing made by the queen – “The baptism diaper of Principle Carol”, the future King Carol II.