Gaza embroidery glossary
A visual guide to stitches, motifs, cloth, colour and embroidery placement in the dress traditions of Gaza and its district.
The language of embroidery
In everyday speech, derza may refer to either the stitch itself or the full motif. Here the terms are separated: stitch is the thread technique, motif is the form, composition is the arrangement of forms, and placement is their position on the dress.
Visual glossary
Eight entries explain technique, motif, cloth, colour and composition in Gaza-area embroidery.
A counted-thread cross-stitch used across central and southern Palestine. It builds the geometric and vegetal units that shape the embroidered fields of the dress.
Gaza’s character emerges through the meeting of technique, composition, colour and cloth.A blue-and-red joining stitch used on abu mitayn cloth woven in Majdal. It joins sections of cloth while turning the seam itself into a visual element of Gaza-area dress.
The qilada, or pendant, is a representative Gaza-area motif built as a suspended form within an embroidered unit and expressed through several variations.
Gaza-area pieces are distinguished by magenta and fuchsia tones. Colour works with the structure of the motif and the cloth to create a clear regional character.
Isdud embroidery arranges patterns in large units, making the embroidered field read as clear blocks with rhythm and symmetry.
Majdal was a weaving centre whose fabrics became known as majdalawi and were used for Palestinian village dress. Gaza embroidery is therefore read through its ground cloth as well as its thread.
Abu mitayn is a Majdal-woven cloth carrying the blue-and-red akeedeh joining stitch, bringing textile making and seam decoration together in Gaza-area dress.
A Gaza cloth named for its green and magenta stripes, reflecting a local practice of naming textiles after the colours of their silk bands.
Dress map
The Gaza chapter organises samples by placement. These site diagrams are original and do not reproduce the book’s plates.
Chest compositions are built around the neckline, often arranged on a central axis that balances both sides of the qabbeh.
Vertical panels carry sequences of geometric and vegetal units along the sides of the dress; their arrangement creates the piece’s rhythm and character.
The back uses larger units or stacked bands read from top to bottom, revealing rhythm and symmetry across Gaza-area dresses.
Chapter scope
These places appear together in the textile and dress history of Gaza’s cultural region.
About the reference
The site offers a concise reading of Gaza embroidery while preserving the book as a reference for research and learning.