---
title: "Punto in aria"
description: "Punto in aria, Italian for “stitch in air”, is a needle lace worked without any woven fabric beneath it, often called the first true lace."
type: Glossary
url: https://teazle.art/glossary/punto-in-aria
published: 2026-10-14
updated: 2026-10-14
author: "The Teazle editors"
---

# Punto in aria

*Punto in aria, Italian for “stitch in air”, is a needle lace worked without any woven fabric beneath it, often called the first true lace.*

Punto in aria is needle lace stitched in the air: instead of filling holes in linen, the lacemaker lays a few outline threads over a drawn design and builds the lace on them with buttonhole stitches. When the work is finished, the support is cut away and only lace remains.

## Why does it matter?

Earlier laces such as [reticella](https://teazle.art/glossary/reticella.md) depended on a woven ground. Punto in aria did not, which freed lacemakers from the square grid of the linen and allowed scrolling, floral and figurative designs. That is why it is often described as the first true lace.


## Sources

1. [Punto in Aria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punto_in_Aria). Wikipedia
2. [Reticella](https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles/techniques/lace-making/reticella). Textile Research Centre, Leiden
3. [Punto in aria](https://cunnan.lochac.sca.org/index.php/Punto_in_aria). Cunnan

Canonical: https://teazle.art/glossary/punto-in-aria