A Stitch in Time

In Spain's Canary Islands, a centuries-old form of embroidery is back.

- Sofia Perez

IN THE WORLD of fashion, everything old is new again--if you wait long enough. Take el calado, a traditional style of embroidery from the Canary Islands that has recently been reborn on catwalks in Madrid. Intricate and extremely labor-intensive, calado is produced by stretching a piece of linen on a wooden rack, pulling out strategic rows of threads, and sewing them back into the fabric, cinching the remaining strands to create a dizzying array of patterns. The name comes from the Spanish verb calar-which means to filter through, a reference to the openwork designs.