OK this may sound like a dumb question, but how the heck do you do this? Is it freehand, or is there an impression matt?
It's freehand and the trick to doing it correctly is to not lift your tip and never allow the lines to cross. I love cornelli lace, that's what I had on my wedding cake, but the lady who did it did not do a good job and it looked sloppy. I was very disappointed in it. 
well I was looking, and I saw an impression mat, but it was $60! All the other matts were cheaper, so I didn't understand why that one was so high. Now I can't even remember where I saw it.
This design is so intricate that I would think it would be harder to follow an impression. Think of it as making a lot of S's and R's. Lines never touch, never cross. The smaller the tip, the more elegant it looks. Take LOTS Of break when doing this! Your hands will cramp like you wouldn't believe!
I love the way cornelli lace looks, but man, it's a pain! I do it freehand as well, and I still need more practice. My lines touch all over the place. Like Debi said, allow plenty of time for breaks to shake out your hand, or you'll come away with a claw!
Country Kitchens has the cornelli lace impression mat for $48:
http://www.countrykitchensa.com/catalog/mini.aspx?T=1&SubCatId=1327
Use tip #1 for the prettiest (the smaller the lines the daintier it is) I try to think of making C's, R's and S's when doing this technique. It is very easy to do, you really don't need an impression mat for it. As indi said above, take lots of breaks when doing it, or your hand will crap. Having the icing on the thin side helps too. Here is a pic of one I did in almost all Cornelli. I would work 10 minutes, then take a break. took a while to get it all done - but it turned out pretty good.
Quadcrew, you did a great job on your cornelli lace! That is what I was dreaming of for my wedding cake, but the woman who did it used like a regular writing tip and the lines were far apart and were just like ugly squiggly lines going everywhere 
Not, the pretty S's and C's like you have. Great job!
Thank you for the nice comments. It took me a little over 2 hours to do just the lace on this cake. It was a 10" heart double layer. I had one of those exercise balls that I would stop and squeeze for a few minutes every break I took. It was worth it all though - the bride to be was THRILLED with this cake, and that just tickles me! When Cornelli is done right, it is beautiful. I have seen some not so great jobs with it though too, and it just doesn't look nearly as nice when it is a bigger tip.
What tip did you use for that delicate work, it is a beautiful cake! I know that I have had to do a few in the style and am glad that I had a quality tip as I had started out with Wiltons and they always curled up at the end the finer you go.
I found this rolling pin ($21):
http://www.cakesbysam.com/store/cart.php?target=product&product_id=21613&category_id=271
i just recently had the opportunity to do cornelli lace on a wedding shower cake and i absolutely LOVED doing it. it was almost theraputic for me.
i just kept making a 'W' and 'M' shape. C's and S's are good too. 
anyway, IMO, i wouldn't even bother with the impression mat.
i think you'll find it actually looks harder to do than it really is. just practice a little and go for it! i'm sure you'll be impressed with your results! 
Cornelli lace can be a beautiful touch on cakes buit too often it is done incorrectly. I see it done with large piping tips, lines that touch or cross over, or just go in a squiggly straight line. Good cornelli is done with a #1 piping tip, royal icing, it does not cross over lines, it does not touch, it goes in a planned random pattern, not in a straight line. It is done closely together, but not over crowded. There are not large spaces between lines.
I am not sure what you can tell by these photos, but the second one is done incorrectly, the piping tip is too large and the lines too far apart.
The first one is how good cornelli should look, very delicate but random pattern, not touching, not crossing over one another.
Everyone's advice has been helpful because I have wanted to try cornelli but have been afraid to. ShirleyW - the examples you posted were great.
My problem is that I try to just doodle cornelli on paper (not even getting near icing and a bag yet) and it just looks like algae! I can't get it to look lacy...no matter what. And that is just with a pen and paper. Somehow I am just not understanding this technique...
I need this info for a cake I am doing in June, so
Big Save!
And Thanks!
Theresa
I'm not sure what you can tell from those photos either... maybe the cornelli exhibited in the second photo doesn't meet the traditionalist/old school rules in terms of spacing and tip size but other than that I can't see what is so awful for it to be deemed incorrect. 'Different' yes, but not incorrect. If you want a delicate pattern you use a small size tip - if you want a bolder design you use a larger tip. Fashions change, times change.
i just learned cornelli on wilton's course 3 class. The teacher said to just go freely. didn't say anything about s & r's. I think this will work well for cover ups w/me. I also found that if the icing is super thinned it works great.
http://www.bakedecoratecelebrate.com/techniques/cornellilace.cfm
http://www.wilton.com/decorating/basic/lacework.cfm
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