Want to buy great hand-made lace? Go to Sri Lanka!

About the last place on earth I’d have thought to buy lovely hand-woven lace was Sri Lanka.  The world’s best tea — of course, but lace seemed improbable.  Still, when my driver asked me if I wanted to stop at a “lace shop”, I said “sure!”

As you can see from the above photo, Sri Lankans make some lovely lace!  Unlike the lace made in Europe, notably Belgium, Sri Lanka’s is little know outside of the island except to those few tourists lucky enough to find a lace shop.  There’s just a small area of Berralu (bobbin) lace production in the southwestern part of the island, especially around Galle and Welligama, where this beautiful lace is woven.

Lace making was introduced to Sri Lanka by the Portuguese and Dutch in the 16th and 17th centuries.  It’s ongoing production is centered in small towns near the sea where Sinhalese ladies have continued the tradition the old fashioned way — one generation teaching this difficult and delicate art to the next.  Mostly you see just older woman working on it, the job not being very popular with the young.  

Sri Lankan lace is made completely by hand as it was 400 years ago.  Products you can purchase here include table cloths, blouses, curtains, pillow covers and other decorative items.  Lace is of limited popularity with Sri Lankans, most of the market coming from tourists.

As I understand it (and I’m far from an expert), and as you can see from the accompanying photos, there are several steps in making Berralu lace:

1)  A stencil is needed, generally made of cardboard or paper, outlining the pattern of lace to be crafted.  The pattern is fixed onto a rotatable drum-like structure used to make the lace.

2)  Expertise in braiding and tying knots from thread on a spool, in the pattern of the stencil.  Any type of thread may be used, such a cotton, silk, wool and synthetic fibers.  Some threads include minerals (eg. gold) in them, obviously raising the cost of the product.  

3) Up to 30 wooden bobbins (berralu) can be used to create a certain pattern.  The lace makers skillfully move these wooden handles to create the desired design.  The craft is so intricate that at times it takes an experienced lace maker about a week to create a meter of one inch wide lace of complicated pattern.

I twice visited the Sujatha Lace Center in Welligama where I had a chance to watch the ladies weaving.  I wish I’d taken some video of it but this was in the days before digital video recordings were commonplace.  It was really amazing at how quickly the bobbins flew in their hands; after watching them for awhile it’s clear that making lace in this manner is not mass production — it’s painstakingly slow.  My first visit to the Lace Center was before the 2004 tsunami and the second about 2 years after the tidal waves had swept through the area.  I was saddened to find that half the women working at the Lace Center had disappeared without a trace (presumably the tidal waves swept them into a watery grave).  A reminder of how fleeting life and acquaintances can be…

The hand-made lace cottage industry in Sri Lanka is at risk from a diminishing work force, recessionary forces and a very fluctuant market.  But if you’re visiting the southern beaches of Sri Lanka or on a trip to view wild animals in Yala National Park, consider a stop at one of the small lace making shops along the road.  I think you’ll find it quite interesting.

For a list of DrFumblefingers blog posts on Sri Lanka, please click on this link.