UPDATE: Thanks to all of you, we have reached our goal!  You can still pre-order your copy of the manual or support our distribution and training workshops until the last day of the campaign.  

This instruction manual teaches 16 stitching techniques of Palestinian embroidery, documented from elderly women before disappearing:  the popular cross-stitching plus techniques that only a few people use today.  Pre-order a copy for yourself, friend and family.  Join us in making a wider social impact by supporting our distribution and training workshops in Palestine and beyond!

WHY THE MANUAL:  Palestinian embroidery = more than just the cross-stitch!

Embroidery is a popular craft in Palestine, but what we know today is a small part of once incredibly rich heritage.  While the cross-stitching has been known as ‘the traditional’ Palestinian embroidery, the other more complex stitching techniques - trimming, binding, connecting, patchwork - have become forgotten, and are known only to a handful of elderly women today.  Documenting and cataloging them before disappearing was a race against time. Equally important was to make these techniques widely known, so that they will become popular again in today’s handicrafts production. This way, the embroidery, the iconic heritage of Palestine, will be restored to its original, diverse form, and thrive in the hands of creative people in the future.

WHAT IS THE MANUAL?

It is a practical aid for embroiderers, and an illuminating book for textile lovers and anyone interested in Palestine and its culture.  It will be published by Sunbula, featuring:

• 100-pages, bilingual text (Arabic and English).

• Instructions on how to embroider with the sixteen stitching techniques found in the old Palestinian dresses.  

• Lots of visuals for easy learning: illustrations, photos of the original dresses, and close-up shots of sample stitches.  

• Historic information on embroidery: original names of the stitches, locations of origin, and how they were used.  

• Informative articles: a glimpse into the sophisticated world of creative work in Palestine centuries ago.

THE PLAN: Print, Distribute, Train!

We are now working to make this book a reality.  With your help, we will be able to print and distribute the manual, and hold training workshops!

Our first goal is to print 1000 copies. Once reached, Sunbula will organize distribution and training workshops at women’s groups, community centers and cultural institutions across Palestine.  We will teach the 16 stitching techniques to women who support their families through embroidery work, young artists, and designers. Our aim is to stir renewed interest in this authentic heritage by reintroducing and encouraging the use of these techniques.

THE IMPACT

The manual would help reinvigorating the embroidery heritage in Palestine, the Diaspora, and the world beyond.  

For Palestinian women making their living through embroidery work in the occupied East Jerusalem, West Bank, Gaza Strip, and in the Diaspora, this manual will aid them improve their skills and knowledge, which, in turn, will help them become better earners.  For young designers and artists, the manual will help them expand their creative possibilities.

SUSTAINABILITY

The book will be sold online, Sunbula fair trade stores in Jerusalem, and bookstores and museums in Palestine and beyond. The sales revenue will continue to subsidize the cost of the book and training workshops for those women and young people who would truly benefit from developing their embroidering skills.  

MAKING OF THE MANUAL

The idea of manual was conceived by Tania Tamari Nasir as an unofficial sequel to her “Palestinian Embroidery: Traditional ‘Fallahi’ Cross-stitch (State Museum of Ethnography, Munich, 1990)”, co-authored with Widad Kawar, a world-renowned collector of Palestinian costumes and the founder of Tiraz.  After this book, which became a must-have at almost every women’s groups doing cross-stitching in Palestine, Tania and Widad wanted to shine the light on lesser-known stitching techniques. Sunbula, a Palestinian fair trade organization, and the fashion designer Omar Joseph Nasser-Khoury joined hands on this journey.

We first studied the costume collection at Birzeit University Museum and identified the 16 stitching techniques. Then, we enlisted the help of women embroiderers in Ramallah, Hebron, Bethlehem, Gaza, and Amman, who went to their elders in villages and refugee camps to collect information about these stitches.  We also videotaped the women embroidering, which Omar watched over and over to deconstruct the techniques. The result is an illustrated instruction of sixteen stitching techniques, the forgotten treasures of Palestinian embroidery.

After many years of preparation, the materials are now ready to print. “Embroidery Stitches from Palestine: An Instruction Manual” will be the first of its kind to be published.   

Read: Sixteen Stitching Techniques, the Forgotten Treasures of Palestinian Embroidery (This Week in Palestine, April 2018 issue)

THE TEAM

Tania (Project advisor and co-writer) is a classical singer and writer who is actively involved with in the preservation, development and promotion of Palestinian cultural heritage.

Omar (Research, writer and co-editor) is a fashion designer, and currently a research fellow at the British Museum as part of a knowledge exchange programme between the Birzeit University Museum and the British Museum.

Shirabe (Producer and general editor) is the executive director of Sunbula.

SUNBULA is a Palestinian fair trade organization established in Jerusalem in 1996.  It works in partnership with 23 craft producer groups from across Palestine in marketing their products and developing their capacity.  Hundreds of women, refugees, people with disability, members of minority groups and small-scale farmers earn a vital income through Sunbula fair trade stores in Jerusalem and online shop, and benefit from its product development training and capacity-building assistance.  A member of WFTO (World Fair Trade Organization), Sunbula upholds fair trade principles and practices.