Lefkara Lace of Cyprus and the Pattern of Tradition
Updated on October 6, 2025 by Meg Pier
Lefkara lace making is an endangered 15th century tradition in Cyprus. It's intertwined with people's identities, economics and social life.
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I wish I could travel to Cyprus and learn the techniques needed to attempt to do this unbelievable lace. It would be a crime for this tradition to be lost due to so called progress!
Dawnlee if you are a handicraft fan you would love Cyprus, so many wonderful traditions! Hopefully the UNESCO designation and funding for education will mean it stays alive. The village of Lefkara is really magical, with so many small shops displaying their work on the streets and women sitting on little chairs, needle in hand!
I would like to go to Cyprus, I do a lot of handicrafts, and those embroideries are of incomparable beauty, they must be worth a lot because handcrafted things never, you pay what they cost to make, there could also be some videos of the town, and see women embroidering, it would be very beautiful and interesting.
Greetings to you, I really liked everything.
Thank you so much Amparo! I am so glad you enjoyed the article and I hope you get to go to Cyprus and Lefkara in particular. It is a beautiful town in a lovely setting and as you say, the lace is spectacular and indeed “priceless”!
Regrettably most of the photos don’t show lace or lace making, but drawn thread work, a totally different discipline and a form of embroidery. .
Lefkaritiko is actually cutwork, not drawn thread! And yes, it’s not bobbin lace making or tatting however cutwork (and drawn thread work!) are both types of lace, while also being embroidery.
Hello Meg, I read your comprehensive article on Cypriot lace, is it possible to learn this art of lace in Lefkare? Do you think someone would agree to teach me?