Idrija lace

Idrija lace is a bobbin tape lace, native to Slovenia, and plays an important part in the Slovenian cultural heritage. The lace was named after the town of Idrija, the main and oldest Slovenian lacemaking center where Idrija lace has been made for centuries and where the renowned Idrija Lace School is located and continually operates since 1876. On August 10, 2000, Idrija lace was registered under protected geographical indication by the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office in Ljubljana. Moreover, bobbin lacemaking in Slovenia was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2018.

Idrija lace is distinguishable by a set of lacemaking techniques that have been adapted and enriched through time and also by patterns that were given folk names; for example, srčkovke (hearts), potonke (peonies), and zibke (cradles). The most distinctive technique of Idrija lace is the tape which is traditionally made with six to eight pairs of bobbins. There are two types of the tape; broad tape, predominantly used during the Austro-Hungarian period, and narrow tape (also called Idrija tape), developed under Italian influence after the World War I.