3. Circular Open Source Fashion¶
This documentation was the hardest for me to write—not because it was hard to accomplish, but because of the emotional weight it carries. This week was one of my favorites in the 13 weeks of assignments, yet its significance made me put it off.
It revolves around Palestinian embroidery or Tatreez. Simple, right? Actually, no. Maybe it’s because of what’s happening nowadays in Palestine, what we see and absorb every single day.
One thing you might not know about me is that I’m from a small town in northern Palestine called Tulkaremطولكرم which translates to Mount of the vineyard. It’s a coastal city consisted by many small villages, including my village, دير الغصون Deir Al-Ghusun, which translates to The Monastery of the Branches. My village is renowned for its lush greenery, ancient olive trees, and sprawling orchards—a natural beauty that reflects the deep connection we have with the land.
After the occupation of Palestine, my family, like many others, was displaced and relocated to Jordan.
Fashion may not seem political, but it has always been a powerful tool of rebellion. Think of how women resisted restrictive corsets in Europe, how they started wearing pants to challenge societal norms and piss men off, turning it into a revolutionary act. Consider the significance of the power suit in the 1980s, symbolizing women’s entry into traditionally male-dominated spaces and asserting authority through style. Fashion has consistently been a medium for challenging norms, expressing identity, and reclaiming power.
Today, Palestinians face all forms of ethnic cleansing, including the erasure of cultural symbols like what we wear. This is why I decided to use Tatreez in this project—not only because it is beautiful and I’ve been lucky to be surrounded by it since childhood, thanks to my mom, but also because it is a way to preserve, celebrate, and keep speaking about my heritage and culture. So buckle up—this is the most emotional documentation I have ever written
What’s the Tatreez?¶
By now, you’ve probably figured out that my project is inspired by tatreez, but what exactly is it?
Well, Tatreez تطريز is an ancient cross-stitch embroidery that originated in Palestine over 3,000 years ago. It’s been passed down from generation to generation, with each stitch holding a special meaning. The motifs tell stories of life events like weddings, pregnancies, and even the land itself.
The Palestinian thoub traditional dress is a relaxed, boxy fit garment covered in these gorgeous Tatreez patterns. Think of it as the kimono of Palestine. Speaking of kimonos, funny story—my Japanese friend, Takuya, once told me he found Tatreez so similar to Japanese designs! The representation of land, nature, the boxy shapes, and the vibrant colors really clicked for him.
Sadly just like the people, Palestinian embroidery has faced so much loss. A lot of motifs and traditional thoubs weren’t documented because this art was passed down verbally. Generations later, so much of it is lost.
Thankfully, though, there are people like my grandmother, my mom, and so many talented artisans who are keeping this alive. And let’s not forget icons like Widad Kawar, who has the largest collection of Palestinian thoubs in the world! If you’re ever in Amman, visiting her museum, Tiraz Home for Arab Dress, is a must. It’s magical.
There’s not much online about Tatreez, but I did come across an article by The Met that dives into Palestinian embroidery. If you’re curious, it’s worth checking out!
Another incredible resource that delves into the story of the Palestinian thoub and its struggles is a documentary by Al-Jazeera, نكبة الأثواب (The Catastrophe of the Thoub). This heart-wrenching film explores the suffering of the Palestinian people through the lens of their clothing, revealing the deep cultural and emotional ties to their traditional attire. Although there are no official English subtitles, you can still watch it on YouTube with captions—they may not be perfect, but they’re better than nothing! It’s a must-watch for anyone interested in understanding the resilience and history embedded in Palestinian embroidery.
"A distinct feature of Palestinian culture is the esteemed tatreez, or Palestinian embroidery. A centuries-old folk art, Palestinian embroidery is a key symbol of identity and culture. Palestinian women begin learning embroidery at a very young age and stitch various patterns, colours, and designs on their thobes (gowns), as well as their headdresses. Each region throughout Palestine specialises in a distinct form of embroidery, fabric, and headdress. In this way, each woman became a walking embodiment of her land."
— Middle East Eye
Circular Fashion¶
Let’s talk about circular fashion—what a challenge! As someone rooted in traditional design and sewing, the idea of creating a garment with no sewing was a bit mind-boggling. My first thought? “Can we use glue?” Claudia’s firm “No” was unsurprising, but still, I had to ask!
we needed a different approach. The concept of creating a "hook and eye" mechanism—where one part slots into another, like a male and female connection—was mandatory.
Design Direction¶
Fun fact about me: I love jackets. But creating a fully tailored jacket without any sewing? That would be nearly impossible. So, I pivoted to designing a kimono—the perfect blend of functionality and style for this unique project.
The result? A modern, modular design with deeply rooted traditional motifs that celebrates both innovation and heritage.
This project embodies multiple layers. My initial concept was to design a kimono where the seams act as the "female" parts, and a design serves as the "male" that connect them. This modular approach perfectly aligns with the principles of circular fashion.
Discovering the Hujub Motif¶
As I explored traditional Palestinian motifs in the book “Palestinian Embroidery: Traditional Fallahi Cross-Stitch”—a cherished item my mother has kept for nearly 25 years—I stumbled upon the Hujub motif (الحجب), which translates to "amulets."
This motif captured my attention for two key reasons:
- Its diamond shape, perfectly aligning with my love for triangles and sharp edges.
- Its natural design includes a "male part," making it an ideal fit for the hook-and-eye concept I was developing.
Digitizing the Tatreez Design¶
One fascinating aspect of the Hujub Motif is its four hooks, which make it incredibly versatile for creating various designs—a perfect foundation to build on!
The traditional motif had slightly short ends, so I decided to digitize it and elongate the design to ensure it could be inserted seamlessly in multiple ways and provide adequate support. Since these pieces would act as joints holding the weight of the garment, their functionality was crucial.
If you're familiar with cross-stitch embroidery, you'll know it’s essentially pixel art, which made the digitization process much simpler. I imported an image of the motif into Adobe Illustrator, carefully counted the "pixels," and replicated the design.
To enhance practicality, I decided to simplify the motif, making it uniform and laser-cutting friendly, while staying true to its traditional aesthetic. This step ensured the design retained its cultural essence while meeting the technical requirements of the project.
Zero-Waste Kimono Prototype¶
I initially wanted to create a zero-waste kimono, It’s a fantastic approach to minimize waste, especially as a fashion designer who constantly deals with fabric scraps. Being the sustainable girlie that I am, I can’t bring myself to throw them away, which has left me with a mountain of scraps over time. This project was the perfect opportunity to address that challenge.
I used this pattern as a template for my project to explore the zaro waste approach, I didn't use all the pieces though.
Using some excess linen deadstock fabric, I decided to take a hands-on approach before digitizing the pattern. I cut and hand-sewed the entire prototype see how it would fit and flow.
The result? A surprisingly beautiful prototype! I decided to make some adjustment to the fit of the final kimono!
Digitizing the Kimono Pattern¶
With the sewing pattern and the tatreez design ready, the next step is to focus on the hooks and eyes of the pattern. These elements will serve as the foundation to combine both the functional and design aspects seamlessly.
Key Considerations:
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The width of the hook must match the opening of the eye precisely to ensure a perfect fit and secure hold.
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The alignment and durability of the hooks and eyes are critical since they will carry the weight of the garment and maintain its structural integrity.
WorkFlow¶
Pattern Creation
Using the edits from my mockup, I finalized the pattern block for the Kimono.
Measuring the Hook
Measured the width of the Hujub hook design created earlier, which was approximately 8mm. Based on this, I designed eyes with the same width to ensure a secure hold without slipping.
Double Hooks for Support
To distribute and support the garment’s weight effectively, I decided to include two hooks for each eye.
Mirroring the Eyes
A key challenge was mirroring the eyes in the pattern, similar to adding seam allowances in traditional sewing. This step ensures that when the garment is constructed, it will "puzzle" together seamlessly, mimicking the effect of sewing.
Preparing for Nesting¶
With the plan in place and designs finalized, the next step was to begin nesting the Hujub blocks.
While nesting, I noticed that a particular shape was consistently being left out as waste.
Determined to stick to a waste-free fashion, I decided to explore this shape by adding double eyes to its four sides, creating a more functional and cohesive element.
Interestingly, the shape turned out to be somewhat square/ diamond, but it felt overly rigid in its current form.
To make the design more dynamic and less blocky, I introduced a cutout in the pattern to soften the visual impact and add more dimension.
This opened up opportunities to experiment further with creating additional complementary shapes that aligned with the overall design concept.
The Lily¶
While exploring various Tatreez patterns on Tirazain, I stumbled upon the beautiful Lily motif. It instantly captivated me with its feminine elegance and deep connection to the land. Its soft, organic design provided a lovely contrast to the sharp edges of the Hujub, making it a perfect addition to my project.
However, the original Lily motif wasn’t quite laser-cutting friendly. To ensure its structural integrity, I decided to transform it into a solid block that could hold its shape.
Here’s the process I followed:
Digitizing the Design I used the Image Trace function in Adobe Illustrator to convert the Lily motif into a vector format.
Refining the Shape To close the gaps in the design, I created a pixel-sized square and carefully filled in the gaps. Using the Shape Builder Tool, I merged the elements into one cohesive block.
Adding a Functional Element To align with the zero-waste philosophy, I incorporated a double eye into the Lily motif, ensuring it could serve as a functional design element in the garment.
First Laser Cut Mockup¶
I decided to cut a half dress form using felt fabric to test the design and functionality of what I had worked on so far. This mockup allowed me to assess the width, support, and overall appearance of the design.
Laser Cutting Settings
| Material | Cut Type | Power | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Felt Fabric | Cutting | 70% | 2 |
This mockup served as a valuable step to identify any adjustments needed before proceeding to the final piece.
Results:¶
The Concept:
The outcome is incredible! The design looks modern and sharp while maintaining its traditional essence. We LOVE IT.
What to Improve:
Joints: The joints turned out to be a bit flimsy and weren’t able to hold the weight of the garment effectively.
Solution: To address this, I decided to add extra support to the joints, ensuring better durability and functionality.
Extra Support¶
After testing the mockup, I realized the joints needed additional support to hold the weight of the garment effectively. To address this, I decided to incorporate larger threads or ropes, inspired by Tatreez motifs, to strengthen the design.
The Canaani Flower¶
The Canaani Flower holds a special place in my heart, as it is one of the most significant and cherished Tatreez designs. As with the other motifs, I digitized this flower on Adobe Illustrator to ensure it was ready for use in the garment.
Additional Lines/Ropes¶
I created three decorative support lines, each inspired by different traditional Tatreez patterns:
Hujub Ends: Drawing inspiration from the edges of the Hujub pattern.
Lily Ends: Featuring the elegant lily motif.
Canaani Flower: Highlighting the most beloved and iconic Tatreez motif.
These lines not only reinforce the structure of the garment but also add a layer of intricate beauty, staying true to the spirit of Tatreez artistry.
Selecting The Suitable Fabric¶
As a fashion designer, I know that choosing the wrong fabric can completely break a design, no matter how beautiful it looks on paper.
Initially, I wanted to use leather and organza for this project—because, apparently, I like torturing myself. My first test with vegan leather was decent, but I realized the fabric had some lycra in it, which is the ultimate enemy for this design.
The joints needed to be stiff and strong, and lycra just couldn’t offer that stability. On the other hand, organza was way too light, making the garment completely impractical.
Then, I brought out some genuine leather—a real treasure. It was perfect for the design, but I just didn’t have the heart to cut into it.
Finally, I visited the fabric store and found Rosemir satin, which ticked all the boxes: 1. Cheaper than genuine leather. 2. Doesn’t fray, making it ideal for laser cutting. 3. Structured enough to hold the weight of the garment and maintain its shape.
Laser Cutting Settings¶
| Fabric | Power | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Vegan Leather | 70% | 2 |
| Satin | 70% | 2 |
| Organza | 20% | 10 |
Final Outcome¶
After two mockups and refining the design, all pattern pieces are finalized, the fabric is selected, and the project is ready for completion!
Laser Cutting Machine Limitations¶
One of the main challenges was working with the laser cutting machine, which had a limited size of 100cm by 60cm. This limitation required me to pre-cut the fabric and process each sewing pattern panel individually. While this eventually resulted in some waste, not to worry! I reused the scraps during the biomaterial week so nothing ends up in anybody's landfill!
Preparing Files for Laser Cutting in Adobe Illustrator
- Stroke Color: Set to red.
- Stroke weight: Adjusted to 0.001pt.
- Engraving: Used a fill and applied the appropriate color based on the laser cutting machine’s settings (black or blue in this case).
Kimono’s Construction¶
After cutting the fabric, it was finally time to assemble the kimono. The beauty of this project is that I had so many pieces to mix, match, and customize however I wanted—with the Hujub motif and the support lines offering endless design possibilities!
You’ll need a pair of delicate tweezers, about five hours of your time, and a whole lot of patience. Constructing this kimono was an incredible experience because it felt so personal—it was me, my style, and my Palestinian heritage all woven together.
Design Surprise!¶
Remember how we used the waste pieces as part of the design? Well, let me tell you, sometimes in fashion, the design takes on a life of its own, and you just roll with it. That’s exactly what happened here!
The diamonds and support lines? They turned into a freaking corset! And the best part? It wasn’t even planned! Moments like this remind me why I love what I do—letting the design guide me was a magical and unexpected twist.
Ladies and Gentlemen: The Hujub design¶
Final thoughts¶
Well, what a roller coaster this has been! I thoroughly enjoyed every part of this journey, and the outcome was so beautiful. The feedback I received was heartwarming and made all the hard work worth it.
What Would I Change?¶
The Design: It's stunning! Honestly, I see it as the foundation for so many possibilities—imagine a red-carpet-ready gown or a chic corset top that can be styled in endless ways. These puzzle pieces are incredibly versatile and could be used to create skirts, jackets, trousers—honestly, whatever we dream of!
Support: The hooks and eyes need more reinforcement as they tend to come undone with movement. A bit of refinement maybe some sewing - Claudia don't come after me!- and it’ll be perfect!
I’m so happy I let the design guide me and listened to what it had to say. I firmly believe that the projects we work on have the power to change us—they influence our narratives and stories in ways we don’t always expect.
A Message to You
Lastly, stick to your heritage. Even if you don’t wear it every day, it will always be a part of who you are, no matter where life takes you or what you achieve.
And to you, dear reader, who stayed with me till the end—thank you. Don’t stop talking about tatreez. 🌿
Fabrication Files¶
Tools¶
| Category | Tools/Materials |
|---|---|
| Software | Adobe Illustrator |
| Hardware | Trotec Laser Cutting Machine |
| Hand Tools | Delicate Tweezers |
| Materials | Felt, Linen (deadstock), Organza, |
| Vegan Leather, Rosemeir Satin | |
| Additional Supplies | Measuring Tape, Ruler, Scissors, |
| Masking Tape |