• Home
  • Research
  • Learn
    • Setting up a Slate Frame
    • Events
    • Lectures
    • Alpine Experience 2023
    • Workshop Glentleiten
    • Workshop Halberstadt
    • Medieval Goldwork Course
    • Medieval Embroidery Study Group
    • FlossTube with the Acupictrix
  • Blog
    • Embroidery Projects & Techniques
    • Embroidery Tools & Materials
    • Research articles
    • Book Reviews
    • Other Reviews
    • Exhibitions
  • Webshop
  • About
    • Contact
    • Curriculum Vitae
  • Startseite
  • Forschung
  • Sticken lernen
    • Stickrahmen einspannen
    • Veranstaltungen
    • Vorträge
    • Alpine Experience 2023
    • Workshop Glentleiten
    • Stickkurs Halberstadt
    • Mittelalterliche Goldstickereikurs
    • Studiengruppe mittelalterliche Stickerei
    • Die Acupictrix auf FlossTube
  • Blog
  • Webshop
  • Über
    • Kontakt
    • Lebenslauf
  • Startpagina
  • Onderzoek
  • Leren borduren
    • Opspannen Slate Frame
    • Evenementen
    • Lezingen
    • Alpine Experience 2023
    • Workshop Glentleiten
    • Workshop Halberstadt
    • Cursus middeleeuws goudborduren
    • Studiegroep middeleeuws borduren
    • FlossTube met de Acupictrix
  • Blog
  • Webshop
  • Even voorstellen
    • Contact
    • Curriculum Vitae
Acupictrix - Dr Jessica Grimm
  • Home
  • Research
  • Learn
    • Setting up a Slate Frame
    • Events
    • Lectures
    • Alpine Experience 2023
    • Workshop Glentleiten
    • Workshop Halberstadt
    • Medieval Goldwork Course
    • Medieval Embroidery Study Group
    • FlossTube with the Acupictrix
  • Blog
    • Embroidery Projects & Techniques
    • Embroidery Tools & Materials
    • Research articles
    • Book Reviews
    • Other Reviews
    • Exhibitions
  • Webshop
  • About
    • Contact
    • Curriculum Vitae
  • Startseite
  • Forschung
  • Sticken lernen
    • Stickrahmen einspannen
    • Veranstaltungen
    • Vorträge
    • Alpine Experience 2023
    • Workshop Glentleiten
    • Stickkurs Halberstadt
    • Mittelalterliche Goldstickereikurs
    • Studiengruppe mittelalterliche Stickerei
    • Die Acupictrix auf FlossTube
  • Blog
  • Webshop
  • Über
    • Kontakt
    • Lebenslauf
  • Startpagina
  • Onderzoek
  • Leren borduren
    • Opspannen Slate Frame
    • Evenementen
    • Lezingen
    • Alpine Experience 2023
    • Workshop Glentleiten
    • Workshop Halberstadt
    • Cursus middeleeuws goudborduren
    • Studiegroep middeleeuws borduren
    • FlossTube met de Acupictrix
  • Blog
  • Webshop
  • Even voorstellen
    • Contact
    • Curriculum Vitae
EN | DE | NL

Historical Embroidery News...

Palestinian Fallahi embroidery: a book review

16/7/2018

12 Comments

 
I turned 40 recently. And as it goes: birthdays and presents go hand in hand.  So when I visited Munich with my parents, we found an unusual embroidery book for my library. Before I'll show you what it is, let me tell you briefly where we found it.

Personally, up to that recent visit, I didn't like Munich one bit. As it is a very wealthy city, I always felt out of place. Although I do like shopping, I avoid big fashion names as I have found my style long ago and want to stick to it; not change every 3 months :). Anyway. This time we ended up in a whole different part of Munich as I wanted to visit a Zero Waste shop aptly named 'Ohne' (without) and my father wanted to visit some antiquaries in search of Feldpost from WWI. Both, and much more, concentrate around the Schellingstraße in the Maxvorstadt. The name Schellingstraße might ring a bell with art, literature and/or history buffs: apart from being Hitler's home turf, Bertold Brecht, Wassily Kandinsky, Rainer Maria Rilke, Lenin, Thomas Mann, Frank Wedekind, Joachim Ringelnatz, Stefan George, Franz Marc and Paul Klee frequented the establishments here in their time. Nowadays, the area is characterised by cosy and hip eateries catering for the whole world, antiquarians and unusual little shops well worth exploring. So, if you ever visit Munich and you are not much impressed by its main shopping streets, head out to the Schellingstraße!
Picture
By Rufus46 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6979565
At one of the antiquaries, I found a book named: Stickerei aus Palästina, traditioneller 'Fallahi' Kreuzstich written by Widad Kamel Kawar and Tania Tamari Nasir in 1992. The ISBN of the German version is: 3-927270-03-2 and that of the English version: 3-927270-04-0 (Palestinian embroidery, traditional 'Fallahi' cross-stitch). Unfortunately, the book is now only available second-hand and prices asked for it range between €75 and €281 !!! My mum paid €22 :). A pretty good deal indeed.
Stickerei aus Palästina
So what's this book all about? Fallahi embroidery is a form of cross-stitch embroidery traditionally practiced by Palestinian peasant women (Fallaha) in their villages. The book shows a collection of traditional patterns from the 19th and early 20th century not yet influenced by later Western styles. The collection is subdivided into Palestinian regions: Ramallah, Jaffa, Hebron, Gaza, Beersheba and the Sinai. At first glance, you might think that these are 'just' geometric motives with no further meaning. The book shows you that not only are certain motives characteristic of a particular region, it also tells you their name. For instance, there are date palms from Ramallah, amulets from Jaffa, the Pasha's tent from Hebron, pendants from Gaza and different forms of cypresses can be found in embroidery patterns from all the regions. Once your eye has been sharpened for this, they are no longer 'just' geometric patterns.
One of the first embroidery centres in Ramallah
One of the first embroidery centres in Ramallah
What items were decorated with this type of traditional embroidery? The embroidery can be found on the traditional Palestinian female dress: the thob. Depending on the region and the status of the wearer, parts of the front, parts of the back, the sides and the sleeves are covered with embroidery. Furthermore, the bridal trousseau would sport the same kind of embroidery.
Pattern for the front of the traditional Thob from Ramallah
Pattern for the front of the traditional Thob from Ramallah
What materials do the Palestinian embroiderers use? Traditionally, the embroidery was executed on local hand-woven linen (actually a mix of linen and cotton) or a form of loosely woven cotton. Famous weaving regions were: Majdal, Gaza, Ramallah, Nazareth, Hebron and Nablus. Until around 1930, they would use plant-dyed silk thread for the embroidery made in Syria. Traditional colours would be indigo blue, reds made from roots or insects and ochre for yellow. By far the most popular colour would have been red. Even the shade of red used would point to the origin of the wearer with wine red being from Ramallah and Jaffa, burnt Sienna from Hebron, magenta from Gaza and scarlet- and fuchsia red from Beersheba.
Pattern for the front of the traditional Thob from Jaffa
Pattern for the front of the traditional Thob from Jaffa
The main part of the book consists of full-page pictures of the stitched patterns (78 in total!). Each pattern has been stitched with European yarn (both DMC stranded cotton and perle were used after the 1930s) onto traditional Ramallah linen. I find this a very nice way of presenting the different patterns. So much more 'lively' than our traditional grid diagrams. And a much more original way of transferring pattern knowledge. Besides the beautiful pattern pictures there are also pictures of women wearing the traditional garments. This part of the book is a real feast for the eyes and your hands start to twitch as you probably can't wait to dive into reproducing a pattern yourself! I've written to the Palestinian Heritage Fund to ask if they know of an online source selling the traditional Ramallah linen (UPDATE: The Palestinian cultural centre wrote to me that they don't think there is anybody still weaving this type of linen. Women now use commercially produced brands such as Zweigart). If anyone knows of such a source, please leave a comment!
Pattern for a traditional cushion from Hebron
Pattern for a traditional cushion from Hebron
The book was originally written to present and preserve the original Palestinian village patterns. Due to the Palestinian Diaspora after 1948, traditional village life changed dramatically. And so did the traditional patterns. Thus, in a way, the book also documents the influences world politics has on a traditional form of embroidery.

If you love cross-stitch and traditional forms of embroidery than this book should go onto your watch-list. With its hard-cover, detailed and clear pictures and 144 pages, it might not quite be worth €225, but around €50 would still be a good buy.
Pattern for the front of the traditional Thob from Jaffa
Pattern for the front of the traditional Thob from Jaffa
12 Comments
    Picture
    Want to keep up with my embroidery adventures? Sign up for my weekly Newsletter to get notified of new blogs, courses and workshops!
    Newsletter

    Liked my blog? Please consider making a donation or becoming a Patron so that I can keep up the good work and my blog ad-free!
    Patreon


    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Acupictrix
    Alison Cole
    Allgäuer Nadelstiche
    Alpine Experience
    Appenzell
    Applique
    Archaeology
    Art
    Art Nouveau
    Arts And Crafts Movement
    ArtTextil Dachau
    Au Ver A Soie
    Bag
    Barbaral Creations
    Bavarian Braces
    Bayrisches Nationalmuseum
    Beadwork
    Beate Pietzsch
    Benediktbeuern
    Berlin Woolwork
    Bisa Butler
    Blackwork
    Blog
    Bohemian
    Bookmark
    Book Review
    Boutis
    Bretsche
    Broche
    Brodse
    Byzantine Embroidery
    Cabinet Of Curiosities
    Canvas Work
    Caren Garfen
    Carolyn Pearce
    Castello Buonconsiglio
    Chasuble
    Children
    China
    Christmas
    Church Heritage Museum Vilnius
    Cope
    Coton A Broder
    Crafts Market
    Crete
    Crewel Embroidery
    Crossstitch
    Czech Republic
    Darning Patterns
    Debbie Rowley
    Diocesan Museum Augsburg
    Diocesan Museum Bamberg
    Diocesan Museum Eichstätt
    Diocesan Museum Trento
    Diözesanmuseum Brixen
    Dommuseum Fulda
    Dr Alexandra Makin
    Ebook
    Egerer Antependium
    Elisabeth Bräuer
    Elisabeth Bräuer
    Elisabeth Roulleau
    Embroiderers
    Embroidery
    Embroidery Hoops
    Embroidery Tools
    Epigraphy
    Exhibition
    Fabrics
    Fallahi
    Federkielstickerei
    Finishing Techniques
    Flea Market Finds
    FlossTube
    Folk Costume
    FREE Pattern
    Germanisches Nationalmuseum
    Gingham
    Glazig
    Glentleiten
    Gold Threads
    Goldwork
    Görlitz
    Görlitzer Sammlungen
    Guild Regulations
    Hazel-blomkamp
    History
    Hl. Kunigunde
    House Of Embroidery
    Iceland
    Inspirations Magazine
    Italian Couching
    Italy
    Jen Goodwin
    Jewellry
    Journal Of Dress History
    Just Nan
    Kelley Aldridge
    Kits
    La Droguerie
    Lecture
    Liberty Silks
    Linen Vestments From Tyrol
    London
    Louvre
    LoveCrafts
    Lusatia
    Madder
    Maison Sajou
    Marienberg Abbey
    Marketing
    Mary Corbet
    Metal Threads
    Miao People
    Middle Ages
    Millie Marotta
    Mindelheim
    M. Maurer
    Mokuba
    Moni Arkadi
    Monogram Stencils
    Mounting
    Munich
    Musee Cluny
    Museum Der Schwalm
    Nathalie Cichon
    National Silk Museum
    Nativity
    Needle Binding
    Needle Lace
    Needlepoint
    Negergarn
    Nordic Needle
    Online Class
    Opus Anglicanum
    Palestinian Embroidery
    Paris
    Pascal Jaouen
    Pattern Darning
    Plumetis Express
    Pope Francis
    Professional Embroidery Course
    Pronkrol
    Rationale
    Regensburger Domschatz
    Renaissance
    Ribbon Embroidery
    Riolis
    Romania
    Royal Garden
    Royal School Of Needlework
    Rüstkammer Dresden
    Samplers
    Schwalm
    Scissors
    Sherryll Cuneo
    Silesia
    Silk Ribbon
    Silk Shading
    Slate Frame
    Speyer
    Stadmuseum Klausen
    St Cuthbert
    Sternenmantel
    Stitchers Box
    StitchyBox
    St Laurence
    St Nick
    St Paul Im Lavanttal
    Stralsund
    Strawberry Fayre
    Studio
    Stumpwork
    Tambour Embroidery
    Tanya Bentham
    Tenntrådsbroderier
    Textile Art
    Textile Fair
    Thimble
    Tutorial
    Tyrol
    Ultramod
    Underside Couching
    Uta Chasuble
    Valdani
    Vestments
    Vic Cope
    Vienna
    Vierfachgarn
    Villach-Judendorf
    Webshop
    Whitework
    William Morris
    Workshop
    Yvette Stanton
    Zardozi
    Zweigart

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014

Contact: info(at)jessicagrimm.com
Copyright Dr Jessica M. Grimm - Mandlweg 3, 82488 Bad Ettal, Deutschland - +49(0)8822 2782219 (Weekdays 9.00-17.00 CET)

Impressum - Legal Notice - Datenschutzerklärung - Privacy Policy - Webshop ABG - Widerrufsrecht - Disclaimer
EN | DE | NL
  • Home
  • Research
  • Learn
    • Setting up a Slate Frame
    • Events
    • Lectures
    • Alpine Experience 2023
    • Workshop Glentleiten
    • Workshop Halberstadt
    • Medieval Goldwork Course
    • Medieval Embroidery Study Group
    • FlossTube with the Acupictrix
  • Blog
    • Embroidery Projects & Techniques
    • Embroidery Tools & Materials
    • Research articles
    • Book Reviews
    • Other Reviews
    • Exhibitions
  • Webshop
  • About
    • Contact
    • Curriculum Vitae
  • Startseite
  • Forschung
  • Sticken lernen
    • Stickrahmen einspannen
    • Veranstaltungen
    • Vorträge
    • Alpine Experience 2023
    • Workshop Glentleiten
    • Stickkurs Halberstadt
    • Mittelalterliche Goldstickereikurs
    • Studiengruppe mittelalterliche Stickerei
    • Die Acupictrix auf FlossTube
  • Blog
  • Webshop
  • Über
    • Kontakt
    • Lebenslauf
  • Startpagina
  • Onderzoek
  • Leren borduren
    • Opspannen Slate Frame
    • Evenementen
    • Lezingen
    • Alpine Experience 2023
    • Workshop Glentleiten
    • Workshop Halberstadt
    • Cursus middeleeuws goudborduren
    • Studiegroep middeleeuws borduren
    • FlossTube met de Acupictrix
  • Blog
  • Webshop
  • Even voorstellen
    • Contact
    • Curriculum Vitae