Horsehair in the
Straw Industry


The use of horsehair in the Aargau straw industry began in about 1830. In order to be able to use horsehair first had to be cleaned and then knotted into long lengths. This was a home-based occupation, which kept between 4,000 and 5,000 women busy. The knotted horsehair was then made into lengths of bobbin lace, primarily by workers in Erzgebirge but also by lace makers in the cantons of Freiburg and Thurgau.

The lengths of horsehair bobbin lace were skilfully decorated and embroidered with straw and other motifs to make them into fashionable and highly prized products.

In 1840, with the introduction of braiding machines into the straw industry, horsehair became a very important material as it could be either made into narrow or wide, long lengths. By the 1860s, the industry had reached its height with enormous amounts of horsehair braid produced on machines, but by 1875 horsehair lost its popularity and almost disappeared from the industry.

© Swiss Foundation for Straw Craft

(Source: G. Rodel)