Why go
They are more meaningful than a generic souvenir once you know what to look for. Malta lace is bobbin lace worked on a straw-stuffed pillow, often with Genoese-style leafwork and sometimes an eight-pointed Maltese cross. Filigree turns fine metal into jewellery, miniature boats, horse-drawn cabs and other recognisably Maltese forms.
The full story
Traditional Malta lace is filet-guipure bobbin lace. Makers work it on a pillow stuffed with straw, creating designs that often use Genoese-style leafwork and may include the eight-pointed Maltese cross. It is commonly made in ivory-coloured linen, although silk in black or white was used historically. The finished lace appears on tablecloths, placemats, serviettes, costume and occasional fashion pieces. Gold and silver filigree, known in Maltese as filugranu, developed under the Knights of St John. Fine wire is shaped into brooches, pendants, earrings, flowers, fans and miniature dgħajjes fishing boats or karrozzini horse-drawn cabs. When comparing pieces, ask what material and technique are being used; the recognisable motif does not alone explain the craft. Technique gives the useful distinction between souvenir and craft.