Palestinian Folk Embroidery Art

The art of embroidery is considered one of the Palestinian folk arts inherited through generations, which has evolved over time into a craft. It became a source of livelihood for a large group of women in Palestine; It has characteristics that are compatible with the social and economic environment of the Palestinian society. This development was accompanied by the creation of new models with high aesthetic values ​​inspired by the originality of this craft.

Palestinian women, especially rural ones, were distinguished for their mastery of the art of embroidery; I used it in many areas of life; As she adorned her house, her dress, and her own utensils; Her drawings, decorations and colors are inspired by the nature of her country and the local environment; That is why we see Palestinian embroidery differs from one region to another in the coordination of colors and graphics; Each geographical area has its own elements, components and decorative formations that derive from it and are appropriate for it.

It is difficult for the researcher to date the art of Palestinian embroidery for various reasons, the most important of which is that fabrics and threads wear out over time; They are not able to resist the factors of nature; That is why it is rare to find samples of Palestinian embroidery dating back to the period before the nineteenth century.

Palestine's unique location in being at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa has played an important role in enriching this rich heritage. In addition to the successive civilizations in the region, including the Canaanite, Jebusite, and Amorite civilizations; And the many invasions that have passed on this land.

Embroidery, with its drawings and types, has undergone fundamental changes with the passage of time. In the nineteenth century and the first quarter of the twentieth century, we find that the embroidery patterns and drawings were primarily geometric in shape; In the thirties of the last century, new influences began to appear that changed the privacy of traditional embroidery, such as embroidery threads manufactured in Europe, which were accompanied by brochures on Western embroidery, and all found their way to the Palestinian markets, so Western drawings such as flowers, birds and animals leaked into the traditional dresses of women. This was evident in the fifties and continues to this day.

I knew the villages of Palestinian women in the past from their dresses; After examining the drawings and colors drawn on them; The decorative units on the garment constituted an important indicator of the identity of the village or region; The woman knows these drawings well, and inherits this information from her mother and grandmother; She begins to learn the art of embroidery at an early age; Vtgrs the need to transfer the drawings of her village on her dresses. As the woman was faithful in conveying the heritage of her village, she was creative in changing her embroidery, so she acquired the traditional drawings of her own taste, without compromising the basic structure of the composition.

Although these changes were minor; However, it gave the dresses a renewed luster. Another factor influenced the development of traditional graphics; It is intermarriage between the people of different parts of Palestine; As the women moved with their husbands to other villages or regions, they moved with them some of the drawings of their original villages to their new villages, or vice versa, and put them on their dresses.

The development of means of transportation, such as trains and buses, has also encouraged the people of Palestine to move and visit; Which made women see more closely other dresses in other regions; What contributed to the exchange of embroidery drawings; The Palestinian woman, like other women, desires renewal and creating an aesthetic world in her dress and adornment.

Although renewal and alteration were always apparent, some drawings remained limited to their specific geographical locations; The Ramallah area, for example, was known for its use of the palm tree; the Hebron region, with what is called the Pasha’s tent; the region of Jaffa, painted with cypress with a base; the area of ​​Gaza, painted with a pillow or scissors; As for Beersheba and its area, it was known for its use of veiling. Although such drawings may distinguish one region from another, we also find them in various forms and different compositions scattered throughout Palestine.

As for the order of the embroidery on the garment, it was not random; Rather, it is considered and covers four main parts of the dress:

1- The dome: It is the closest piece to the face. Its linguistic origin is (the title), which is what goes into the pocket of the shirt on the patches; But it means in the Palestinian dialect (the collar of the dress).

2- Tail: It is the lower back part of the garment. Its linguistic origin is “tail” and its plural is “tails”, that is, what is dragged from the garment if it is swept away.

3- Al-Benika: It is the side of the dress and its linguistic origin is Al-Benika.

4- The sleeve: it is the entry and exit of the hand from the garment.

The threads used in embroidery are of four types:

1- Silk thread: The most expensive and heaviest thread. The dress embroidered with it weighs eight kilograms, and is only worn in celebrations.

2- Cotton thread: it is embroidered on all kinds of clothes, and it is cheap, but some cotton threads fade and the colors of some of them dissolve on the colors of others.

3- The reeded thread: In the north of Palestine they embroider the tunic and the taqsir, and in the white Dajani dress, the upper chest and the violin are embroidered on velvet fabric.

4- Machine thread: It is embroidered on satin fabric only, by machine. This thread is also used to connect the parts of the dress to each other, and they embroider a silk thread over the link.

Features of the art of Palestinian embroidery

1- Work clothes are less decorated than clothes for seasons and occasions.

2- Unmarried girls are not allowed to wear adornment colors except for kohl; Therefore, they compensated for this by decorating their clothes with bright colors.

3- Customs require that each girl embroider her clothes on her own.

4- The greater the thickness of the thread and its luster and the decorated area on the garment, the greater its aesthetic and material value.

5- The decorations of older women are less ornate than the clothes of girls, as they must be of thick fabric, dark in color and often black on the floor; or dark purple or beige; Also, the colors of its decorative units are dark, and they are called (the colors of decency) and they mean "dignity".

6- Ornamentation (embroidery) was limited to women's clothing, starting from the Islamic conquest


The stitch is known in the popular Palestinian dialect as "Qutbah", and it is the basis that finally gives the general shape of the embroidered decorative units. Among the most popular stitches used are:

1- Sclerosis
2- the tide
3- Teething
4- editorial
5- Machine stitch
6- Silk culture stitch
7- The thread
8- twisting
9- Altanbita
10- Zigzag.


Finally, it is necessary to point out the danger to which the Palestinian folk embroidery art has been exposed, and still is. Where the Zionist movement and the occupation attempted to steal the Palestinian heritage by distorting the Palestinian folk costumes, by introducing decorative units for the art of Palestinian embroidery, and establishing embroidery workshops; for the purpose of obliterating this heritage; Participation in international fashion shows, and claim that these costumes are from their heritage; As well as the purchase and disposal of old embroideries, ensuring that no trace of them remains, and distorting the general shape of the dress, by shifting the places of decorations on the parts of the dress, and changing the names and shapes of the decorative units; Despite this, the Palestinian heritage remained steadfast and was not broken or vanished.