The show was held in the Community Room in Market Place, Leichhardt.

Visitors were shown how to make the crochet stitches needed for an Italian doily, or centrino a uncinetto, and were amazed at the demonstrations of hairpin (forcella) lace.

The secrets of making intricate macramé were also on show.

There were many visitors who appreciated these traditional works and even expressed interest in participating in the weekly workshops, which are held every Tuesday in that very room, from 11:00 am to 3:30 pm.

It’s an initiative which has the scope of preserving the traditions of Italian embroidery in a pleasantly social setting.

The history of lace and needlework in Italy is ancient, but had a particular boom in the early 20th century, when Irish crochet lace arrived on the Belpaese’s shores.

At this time, the local aristocracy needed a way to increase its dwindling resources.

The practice of Irish crochet lace took hold because many women already had expert needlecraft skills.

Irish lace, born to imitate Venetian needle lace, became both a popular artistic handicraft and a flourishing business, enabling women to promote and earn money through their work.

To meet the growing worldwide demand, lace-making was organised in an assembly-line manner, with each worker doing a specialised job.

Italian women developed their own Irish crochet lace style, with every region developing specific and beautiful characteristics.

The Umbria region was fertile ground for crochet, with an ancient tradition of weaving, embroidery and lace.

The Orvieto school developed newly imagined designs for motifs, which were connected with a trellis, or background net.

In the Orvieto school’s work, groups of small nebula-like hexagons often filled the centre of tablecloths and doilies.

From this central point of interest, the real motifs spread.

Instead of Irish flower, the Umbria school found inspiration in Orvieto’s famous Duomo reliefs, producing classic motifs inspired by the Biblical Eve, plus deers, mythological birds and gryphons.

Friulian crochet lace was also innovative, with geometric, floral or faunal motifs interspersed with handmade braid or cord.

Crochet was and still is a well-loved craft in the south, such as in Calabria, where it is possible to find unusual heirlooms.

In Sardinia, traditional costumes are colourful, embroidered, and always include shawls.