Research¶
History of Palestinian Thob¶
The Canaanite dress is considered the oldest known form of Palestinian dress, dating back more than five thousand years, based on inscriptions, statues, and artifacts from the Canaanite civilizations that inhabited Palestine. This dress was simple in cut, often long and straight, and woven from linen or wool. It was adorned with geometric and floral motifs with symbolic meanings related to the land, fertility, and protection.
Over time, the Canaanite dress evolved into what later became known as the embroidered Palestinian dress. While the basic elements of the cut and symbols persisted, the embroidery techniques and colors diversified according to region and era, ensuring that the dress remains a living testament to a long and continuous history in this land.
Palestinian fashion from ancient Canaan to a thobe in Congress
How many thobs are there in Palestine?¶
There is no specific number of original traditional dresses in Palestine because every village and region in Palestine had a number of dresses, not just one.
## the pattern and embroidery placement for a traditional Palestinian Thob
What is TATREEZ¶
Palestinian (peasant) embroidery is a traditional folk art practiced by Palestinian women, especially in villages and rural areas. It is known in Arabic as peasant embroidery and in English as Tatreez. This embroidery is an essential part of the Palestinian dress, not merely a decorative element, but a visual language that conveys identity and social and historical information.
What distinguishes peasant embroidery?¶
Entirely handmade: It is executed by hand with a needle and thread, often using the cross stitch along with other auxiliary stitches.
Linked to the countryside and agriculture: It is inspired by the natural environment surrounding Palestinian farmers: the land, wheat, trees, birds, and stars.
Symbolic and meaningful: Each shape or embroidery motif carries a meaning, such as fertility, protection, abundance, or belonging to a place.
Social Function¶
Before the Nakba, Palestinian peasant embroidery:
Identified the region or village a woman belonged to.
Indicated her marital status (single, married, widowed).
Reflected her economic status through the density of the embroidery and the quality of the threads.
Used in daily life and on special occasions (weddings, holidays).
Its Value Today¶
Today, Palestinian peasant embroidery is:
A symbol of Palestinian identity and historical continuity.
A globally recognized art form, inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
A source of inspiration for contemporary art, fashion, and design.
In short: Palestinian peasant embroidery is not merely decoration, but a visual record of Palestinian memory, woven thread by thread by women to preserve the land, identity, and history.
Mrs. Maha Abu Shousha is one of the most important references in the field of collecting and researching the history of the Palestinian thobs.
Technically, TATREEZ :¶
is a traditional decorative-structural system based on building modular units (motifs) using repeated hand stitches—most notably the cross stitch—executed over an implicit fabric grid, where each stitch acts as a visual data unit carrying spatial, cultural, and functional information, to creat repeated motifs.
## TATREEZ BASICS & TYPES :
TATREEZ stitches types¶
The most most common basic types that used in historical palestinian thobes: The basic types of Palestinian embroidery stitches:
TATREEZ THREADS¶
The most used threads in PALESTENIAN TATREEZ before 1900s was silk, after this period they used both cotton and silk.
some of the wealthy Palestinian women used gold and silver threads to embroider their Thobes as a symbol of their high social status and prestig, specially in Bethlehem with couching stitch.
TATREEZ Inspiration¶
Every city in palestine has its own motifs according to the f=different natures and animals that is available there, so uncountable motifs appeared in historical thobs.
below you can see different motifs from villiges from different cities.
