3000-year-old embroidery art of tatreez tells the story of Palestinian identity
Artisan Randa Yousef Al Miyari: Tatreez is an ancient embroidery technique that dates back to the Canaanite era [people who lived in the Arab region, 3,000 years ago]. It has been used for centuries by Palestinians - using different colours and patterns to symbolise things like social and marital status as well as the village you’re from.
Throughout history, tatreez has always been used to tell the story of Palestine. Every pattern, every stitch tells the story of where the wearer is from, their history, and where they stand in life [embroidery in gold and silk threads would mean royalty]. So each tatreez piece tells the person's story and history using nothing but thread, needle, and colour.