Crafting Culture: Transnational Networks of Swedish Lace, Past and Present

In the face of rapid industrialization in the late 19th century, Swedish suffragettes and folklorists worked to preserve handmade lace traditions across the country and provide employment to rural women and girls. As part of an international network of philanthropists, ethnographers, and collectors, their efforts have had a lasting impact in Sweden to this day, where lace traditions continue to be passed down and celebrated. In June 2024, funded in part by a grant from IOLI, Elena traveled to Sweden as part of her doctoral research, and studied bobbin lace techniques from Skåne, Vadstena, and Dalarna during a two-week course with the Swedish Lace Association (FSS). This talk will bring together her historical research into collectors and makers of Swedish lace as well as findings gleaned from the process of learning to reproduce these regionally-specific techniques.