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Language: Swedish
The following comes from this website.
Vadstena in Sweden is a center for the lace technique 'finknyppling' which is the technique of making bobbin lace with the finest thread. Swedish historians agree that 'knyppling' most likely was initiated by women who had returned to Vadstena after having accompanied their soldier husbands to fight in wars in Europe. It is believed that the lace technique originally came from Flanders, Belgium.
In Vadstena, from the 1700s until the beginning of the 1900s, many women and some men earned extra money by making Vadstena lace in their homes. In 1870, Vadstena had 2,400 inhabitants. In Vadstena and the surrounding parishes, there were at that time 800 people making lace for a living.
In the late 1800s, factories began manufacturing machine-made and cheaper lace. Craft advocates feared that the knyppling technique would be forgotten. In 1903, a group of advocates with Ingeborg Petrelli as leader founded Vadstena Knyppelschools to preserve the tradition of 'finknyppling'.
Today, the association 'Föreningen för Svenska Spetsar' is active to preserve the tradition of making Vadstena lace. The association publishes patterns and arranges 'knyppel' courses in the summer. 'Knyppling' continues as a popular hobby. 'Vadstena Lace Museum' opened in 2005
A Swedish stamp from 1976 featuring Vadstena knyppling with the Vadstena Abbey seen through a window.
A Vadstena lace from the church in Vinnerstad
Leena, a lacemaker from Finland gave me the following information:
Swedish lacemaking terms:
spets - lace
knypplad spets - bobbin lace
spetsknypplare - lace maker
knyppel - bobbin
knyppelpinna - bobbin
knyppeldyna - lace pillow
slag - hit or stitch
enkelslag - half stich (enkel - simple)
vävslag - linen stich (väv - weave)
dubbelslag - full stich (dubbel - double)
knyppelmönster - lace pattern (mönster)
nåla - pin
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