Reticella (also reticello or in French point coupé or point couppe) is a
needle lace dating from the 15th century and remaining popular into the first quarter of the 17th century.
Reticella was originally a form of
cutwork in which
threads were pulled from
linen fabric to make a "grid" on which the pattern was stitched, primarily using
buttonhole stitch. Later reticella used a grid made of thread rather than a fabric ground. Both methods resulted in a characteristic geometric design of squares and circles with various arched or scalloped borders.
Books of patterns for reticella designed by
Federico de Vinciolo (France, 1587) and
Cesare Vecellio (Italy, probably from the 1590s but printed 1617) were popular and were frequently reprinted.