Austrian Linen

Located in the main village square, the Weberei Schatz is a small family-run business located in Karrösten, Austria. They continue to make woven items and lace according to techniques passed down through many generations providing high-quality tablecloths and other fine linen.

If you happen to be in the vicinity, the Schatz family are happy to show visitors around their workshop, where two generations of expert weavers and lacemakers have worked for decades to create some of the finest tablewear and linen in the region. For a long time traditional linen was out of fashion, but in recent years it has regained popularity. Weberei Schatz in Karrösten uses mechanical looms to produce hard-wearing linen with traditional patterns.

As well as linen, Weberei Schatz is also a specialist in the traditional but today rarely practised craft of bobbin lace-making. It is thought that this fiddly and time-consuming technique was developed in 16th century Italy. The lace patterns themselves are highly valuable since they are so hard to draw. Bobbin lace-making involves twisting, overlapping and tying together hundreds of fine flax threads to create wonderfully intricate yet surprisingly hard-wearing objects such as tablecloths, fine placemats, etc, which are often used in households for many decades.