Damascene craftspeople have a long tradition of decorative embroidery. White and wool fabrics embroidered with gold and silver threads have been associated with Damascus for centuries; this style of craft is known as Al-Aghabani embroidery.
Mary, one of the longstanding practitioners of Al-Aghabani craftsmanship, described Al-Aghabani as a traditional handcraft made with natural silk, gold and reed threads and embroidered by needle with raised details, distinguishing it from other Damascene fabrics such as brocade and silk.
Al-Aghbani is also distinguished by its seven colors and the names of its drawings, where each embroidered stitch has a special name such as ” Saqf al- Qa’a”, ” Daqqat al-Lira”, “Al-Sultan”, “ad-Dama” “al-Lawza”and “Lam Alef'” drawing.
Every piece of Aghabani needs about a month to be completed, so the Damascene families had to wait a long time to complete the bedspreads and clothes, according to al-Noqta.
Mary said he inherited this craft from his grandparents. He designs drawings and engravings on cloth that is either silk or cotton, then begins the stage of printing the drawings on wood briquettes. This is carried out by specialized workers, then the washing and ironing stage are carried out by a manual machine, thus the piece becomes ready for use.
Al-Aghabani fabric was originally made out of natural silk which was abundant in Syria at a certain time. Nowadays, high quality Syrian cotton is more often used to make this beautiful fabric. al-Aghabani is mostly used for table linens and certain clothing items.
