A Work in Progress:

Embroidering a Palestinian Style Dress

by Kateryn of Roseberry Topping called Khadijah.

A number of my friends own beautiful, embroidered Palestinian or Bedouin dresses, and one has exquisite heavy black satin coat covered in tiny, brightly colored, cross-stitches. The garments were purchased on trips to Egypt or from merchants who crossed their paths. I both envy and covet these garments. The dresses are comfortable to wear and look suitably period for a Middle Eastern persona at an SCA event. The problem with the dresses is they are often created for women who are much shorter and less full figured than I, so I have never found one that I can wear. My solution: I would make one for myself. It can’t be too difficult, after all I can sew, and I can cross-stitch.

Selecting the style of the dress was easy. I already had a pattern I had drafted to sew basic caftans for the Middle Eastern “side” of my persona. Traditional Arab or Bedouin dress follows a simple basic pattern resembling an ancient A-shaped tunic known to archeologists as the “Syrian tunic”. This loose fitting, long sleeved gown was worn throughout the Levant by both rural and urban men and women. Straight cuts of fabric formed the main body of the dress with diagonal cuts added for ease of movement. This made the most of the narrow woven fabrics available and none was wasted. Principal fabrics used were wool, linen, cotton and silk. Embroidery was done with silk thread as well as gold and silver threads. The type and quality of fabric and as well as the amount of embellishment used often indicated as much about a person’s wealth and social status as it did about the region or area of origin.

I decided to make a Palestinian style embroidered dress in a traditional manner. This type of dress resembles garments found in Macedonia, Greece, Egypt and throughout the Levant. I am using the term “Palestinian” to indicate my area of interest. The Palestinian dresses were usually done in white or dark linen and each piece of the dress is embroidered separately before it is sewn together. The parts of the dress usually embroidered are a square chest panel (quabbeh), the side panels (bemaueq), the front lower panel (dayer), and the back lower panel (shinyar). Sometimes parts of the sleeve (sa‘eid) are also embroidered. The most elaborate and important embroidery is found on the chest panel. In ancient civilizations the head, neck and chest (as the main life centers) were thought to be vulnerable and needed to be protected from the evil eye or evil spirits. One of the ways of providing protection was with embroidery. The Qabbeh is most often embroidered as a separate piece of fabric and then attached to the dress.

Embroidery was done in silk thread with cross-stitch as the favorite stitch. A couching technique was used for gold and silver threads. Thread colors most often used are shades of red and blue with accents of purple, yellow, green, and orange. In her book Arabesque: decorative needlework from the Holy Land, Amir states, “red is considered a lucky color in the East and a protection against evil spirits”. The color blue is also considered protective, and green is held sacred as it symbolizes the Moslem paradise. In his book on Palestinian embroidery, Abu Omar makes reference to a maiden’s dress worn in Southern Palestine. Before marriage a female is not permitted to use large amounts of red embroidery on her dress and so many young women and girls use blue embroidery as their preferred alternative possibly because of its “protective qualities”. I found the pictures of these dresses very attractive and since I have never been married (neither has my persona) I settled on this use of color for the embroidery on my dress.

Next I started looking for a suitable fabric. I found a medium weight black cotton fabric with a simple, loose weave that has the appropriate “folkloric” look. Once I had the fabric I began to look for traditional patterns to embroider. There are many patterns and motifs found in embroidery from the Middle East. The main designs are bold geometrics such as squares, diamonds and triangles with the addition of patterns based on elements of nature such as stars, flowers, the moon, the sun, and trees. These designs are used as borders or frames and are arranged vertically or horizontally with other patterns to cover entire portions of the dress. It is the choice of fabric, colors, patterns and their combinations that make each dress a unique work of art.

I also made two other decisions. One was to use waste canvas for my embroidery. I find black very difficult to work on without the help of waste canvas (my eyes have never been that great) and the fabric is not an even weave which is needed to do counted thread work. The second decision was to use cotton floss (DMC is my preferred brand) for the embroidery. Silk is expensive and can be difficult to work with and I felt 1 would have enough problems with the size of this project without the added difficulty of silk floss. I made plans to use some of the motifs and patterns found in Amir’s book for the bottom and sides of the dress. For the chest panel, I decide to follow the chart in the Folkwear Gaza Dress pattern. The Folkwear pattern is an excellent source of information. It has a good cross section of traditional motifs that can be stitched either as given or used in other combinations to make your own design?

Finally I was ready to start the actual embroidery. I began to stitch the chest panel. I made a change, adding another color & filling in a space left blank on the chart. Then I added a motif I am doing what any good needlewoman does, changing the pattern, and using traditional motifs and embellishments to make a dress that will be uniquely mine.

As I stitch, I notice a note in the chart directions for the chest panel, “there are 6,535 stitches; the approximate time needed to complete the design is 50 hours”. Wait a minute. 50 hours for just the chest panel? That means the design as shown. I have already made at least 4 changes or additions. What does that do to the stitching time? The side and lower panels still need to be stitched. Just what have I gotten myself into?

So if you see me at an event stitching, stop and chat. I would be happy to discuss the progress of my Palestinian dress. Oh, and did I mention that the veil or head shawl worn with this style of dress is also embroidered?

“Old silk is better than new wool.” Arabic proverb.

Bibliography

Abu Omar, Abed Al-Samih Aniir, Ziva, Traditional Palestian Embroidery and Jewelry. Jerusalem, Al-Shark Arab Press, 1987.

Amir, Ziva, Arabesque:decorative needlework from the Holy Land. New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1977.

Burnham, Dorothy K., Cut my Cote. Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum, 1973.

Folkwear Patterns, Gaza Dress Pattern. Folkwear 101, 1975.

Friedman, Jane, “These Stitches Speak”. Aramco World, Vol. 48, No.1, March/April 1997, p.2-11.

Grutz, Jane Waldron, “Woven Legacy, Woven Language”. Aramco World, Vol. 42, No. 1, Jan/Feb., 1991.

Ross, Heather Colyer, The Art of Arabian Costume: a Saudi Arabian Profile. Arabesque Commercial, 1981.

Salah, Nahda, Costumes and Customs from the Arab World. Saudi Arabia, I.P.A., 1979.

Kay Marszalek is a librarian with a career specialization in Children ‘s Literature and Services. She also has a BA in history and has been studying Middle Eastern dance since 1982. She enjoys needlework, sewing and wearing garb and admits to being a storyteller, dancer, puppeteer, unabashed fabriholic, and information junkie.

Lady Kateryn of Roseberry Topping called Khadijah (OW, OPF) is the daughter of a Crusader, and was born and raised in the Holy Land.