Idrija lace is a special type of bobbin lace. It's named after the town of Idrija, the oldest and most important Slovenian lace center. In 1876 the distinguished Idrija Lace Making School was established there and it has been nurturing and enriching the art of lace throughout all these years.
Idrija lace is characterized by a certain repertiore of lacing techniques and it has been expanding and perfecting over the years. Typical for this type of lace are patterns, which are called with popular names like „hearts“, „peonies“, „cradles“,...
The most typical of all Idrija laces is the so called ris, a ribbon, traditionally made with six to eight pairs of bobbins. We distinguish between a broad ribbon predominant in Austrian monarchy and a narrow ribbon, also called „Idrijan ris“, which developed under Italian influence in the years after World War I.
