Idrija lace

What it is

Idrija lace is a bobbin tape lace, and the tape is what sets it apart from other lace of its kind. It is made in the town of Idrija, in Slovenia, the oldest lacemaking centre in the country and the place the lace is named after. Two kinds of tape are known. Broad tape belonged to the Austro-Hungarian period; the narrow one, sometimes called Idrija tape, came in after the First World War under Italian influence. Makers also gave their patterns folk names, among them srčkovke for hearts, potonke for peonies and zibke for cradles. The craft's techniques have been added to and refined over the centuries.

Origins and history

Lacemaking took hold in Idrija at the end of the 17th century, at a time when the mercury mine was giving less work. It became a trade that supported local families, and the lace was valued for wearing well, so it was bought chiefly by the middle class. In 1875 Franc Lapajne opened a lace business, and Idrija lace travelled to buyers in Europe and America. A lace school followed in 1876, opened by Ivanka Ferjančič and other lacemakers, and taught people such as Marija Reven and Leopoldina Pehlan. Trade held up until Austria-Hungary broke apart. The First World War, the Italian occupation of Idrija and later the shrinking mine all hurt sales, and the vocational lace school closed after the Second World War.

Keeping the craft

The Idrija Lace School is the centre of teaching and has run since 1876, making it part of the town's everyday life as well as its history. Members of the Idrija Lacemakers' Association, about 130 of them, learn together, and the association has held exhibitions every year since 2003. It also runs an online event before Christmas and before Easter, begun in 2020, which brings the lace to people who cannot visit in person. The town's lace festival is held each summer. Lacemaking today is largely the work of retirees and of schoolgirls who take it up as a hobby alongside their studies.

Today and change

Few pieces are now bought for daily use. Most go to visitors as mementos, and tourists in Idrija are the main buyers. Some families have kept the trade in the blood. Franc Lapajne's descendants, among them Darja Lapajne and Vanda Lapajne, work to hold on to both the family practice and the wider craft. More recently, lacemakers have worked with engineers and natural scientists at the University of Ljubljana on a modern, designer-led direction for the lace. In 2000 the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office in Ljubljana gave Idrija lace protected geographical indication status.

How Idrija lace is kept

A pencil-drawn pattern sets the shape. It is pinned to a cylindrical pillow that sits in a shallow basket, and thread is wound onto bobbins. Between six and eight pairs of bobbins go into the tape, which curves back on itself and is joined as the rest of the lace grows alongside it, using a crochet hook. Pins and scissors are part of the work. Today most lacemakers are retirees and young girls who take it up in their free time at the Idrija Lace School, together with about 130 members of the Idrija Lacemakers' Association.

When and where

The craft is worked all year, and teaching has gone on at the lace school since 1876. The town holds its lace festival every summer. Since 2020 the lacemakers' association has run an online event before Christmas and before Easter, and it has put on exhibitions each year since 2003.

Idrija, in Slovenia, is the home of the lace and the country's oldest lacemaking centre, and the school still works there. Idrija lace was registered under protected geographical indication in Ljubljana in 2000. In the 19th century the lace reached buyers in Europe and America, and later the main market shifted from Germany to Italy.

What Idrija lace means

The lace records a change in the town's working life, when the mine could no longer employ everyone and lacemaking offered another way to earn. It is held to be part of Slovenia's cultural heritage, both in the state's register and on UNESCO's list. For families such as Franc Lapajne's descendants, the skill is an inheritance, and they work to preserve both their family practice and the craft at large.

Questions people ask about Idrija lace

See also

LicitarA hand-painted honey biscuit given as a gift at weddings and on Valentine's DayChristmas treeA decorated evergreen or artificial tree placed indoors to mark the Christmas season.LändlerA three-quarter time partner dance from the Alpine region, known for hopping steps and yodeling.CsárdásA Hungarian folk dance that moves from a slow start to a fast finish, kept in Hungary and neighboring regions.

Good reading and sources

• Bobbin lacemaking in SloveniaUNESCO, Heritage listing
• Bobbin lacemaking in SloveniaUNESCO, Article

• Idrija lace on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.