Creating a Design
Now that we have gathered the Required Materials, it's essential to create a design that reflects your personal style and vision. In this post, we will explore the process of designing a Tatreez project and introduce valuable resources to inspire your creativity.
1. Inspiration
Starting your project begins with finding inspiration from traditional Palestinian designs. These timeless motifs, deeply rooted in history, serve as the heart and soul of your embroidery projects. We recommend exploring our post on Recommended Resources. There, you'll find books featuring an abundance of motifs, each with its own unique story and significance. Don't hesitate to combine different motifs together. Infuse your own personality into the embroidery and create a truly one-of-a-kind piece.
2. Utilizing Online Design Tools
The following are useful resources to create a custom design using a DMC thread color library, experiment with various motifs, shapes, and patterns by placing them within the grid squares, and finally download PDF versions of your design for reference while stitching.
FreeSe Works' GridDesigner
(PAID) Stitchly APP
3. Choosing Your Tatreez Palette
Selecting the right thread color for your tatreez project is an art. Traditional Palestinian embroidery is known for its vibrant colors. While various regions often exhibit similar colors and motifs, there are instances where each region showcases its unique elements. Remember that your choice of colors adds visual appeal and tells a unique story about the region or tradition you're celebrating in your tatreez project.
The following charts display traditional DMC thread colors that were most common in Palestinian embroidery during the end of the 20th Century, as per the Encyclopedia of Embroidery of the Arab World.
4. Outlining borders
When creating your Tatreez design, it's essential to keep in mind the count of your Aida cloth or waste canvas. This count determines the number of stitches you'll need to achieve the desired pattern. From our Required Materials post, we know that the count of the Aida cloth or waste canvas refers to how many stitches there are in 1 inch.
For Example:
Count: 11 Count Aida Cloth = 11 Points
Cross Stitches per inch: 11
Preferred Final Project Size: 5 x 7 inches
Stitch Count Size: 55 x 77 stitches
Always multiply the stitches per inch by your desired parameters to get the number of total stitches.
Always double-check that your fabric has the same amount of Cross Stitches / Inch in both directions.
Count twice & cut once!
It is important NOT to cut your desired aida cloth or waste canvas until you are finished creating your design. As your preferred size might change. Refer to the Setting Borders post before cutting
After setting the parameters, it is useful to add additional empty stitches on each border to allow for room when designing. This precision ensures that your embroidery aligns well, resulting in a clean and accurate representation of your chosen motifs. So, remember to adapt your design to match your stitch fabric's count and project size.
Stay tuned for our upcoming posts, where we'll guide you through the exciting journey of starting and finishing your Tatreez project. We'll provide step-by-step instructions and tips to ensure your embroidery reflects both tradition and your artistic flair.
