How a circle of London women are finding healing through this traditional Palestinian art

Stitch by stitch, a woman carefully sews a deep magenta thread onto a tapestry, slowly revealing an intricate geometric design. 

There is chatting, and there is mint tea. But at the centre, a circle of women are gathering together to learn the traditional Palestinian art of tatreez.

The craft, which dates back centuries, has been passed down through the generations — and is also a form of social activism depicting Palestinian history and culture.

Moved to pick up a needle and thread, Rasha Abu Ramadan began teaching tatreez in the London area last summer, inspired by the Threads of Diaspora project out of Edmonton, Alta. 

"What we're doing here is not only a form of resistance — and social and cultural resistance — but it's a form of ensuring that we maintain our identity, that we pass on to the younger generation cultural aspects that we do not want to be erased," she said, while at a workshop at ReImagine Co. in downtown London. 

The craft is often used to decorate clothing, including traditional dresses known as thobes. Ramadan said that each Palestinian region is represented in different ways, with different colours and motifs. An image as simple as a watermelon, olive or wheat grain can have deep meaning, said Ramadan.

'More than just a cross stitching club'

Community healing is also a large part of the project, Ramadan said. 

"This is more than just a cross-stitching club. It's a way for us to connect with one another and to share our lived experiences together. It's healing."

Many of the women have lost family — mothers, fathers, siblings, cousins — killed in Gaza, she said. "It's very difficult to explain to people who haven't gone through those experiences." 

Those outside of the Palestinian community have joined the workshops, too, to show their support and learn about the culture. 

Rojah Hajimirzakhani is stitching a motif known as the star or moon of Bethlehem in purple and red thread.  

She is there to participate, but is also researching tatreez and how the Palestinian diaspora is using it to connect to their homeland as a form of soft resistance, she said, as part of her grad studies at Western University. 

"It's really beautiful," she said. "It's really amazing to see people be able to come together, especially in these difficult times in the context of the genocide on Gaza — and to find a way to connect and to feel a sense of hope through the artwork that they're doing."

Areej Obeid, whose family is from Palestine, is here as a volunteer teaching tatreez, after recently picking up the craft again and honing her skills. 

Now, she's already creating patterns for the embroidery inspired by the project from other clothing she sees online. Carefully designed in squares, each pattern is unique.

"This is really, really rewarding," she said. "I'm just really excited about this project, and I can't wait to have our final tapestry put together and ready to present."

A lot of the patterns used are part of larger Palestinian resistance, said Samah Al Sabbagh, the president of the Canadian Palestinian Social Association in London, which the Tatreez group is part of. In 2021, the United Nations recognized Palestinian embroidery as an important express of cultural heritage. 

"There are certain patterns that we use, which is about the solidarity and how to keep our land and keep ... standing still, be strong," she said. "What we're trying to do in this club is to revive that tradition of tatreez and get the people to understand."

So far, enthusiasm was evident in the room. 

She was there with her 11-year-old daughter Jurie Seyam, who was busy practicing the stitches she's learned in the shape of the letter J. The next time she comes, she hopes to personalize it around the edges.  

"I just wanna learn more of my culture," Seyam said. 

She finds it has other benefits too, like keeping you focused on one thing if you have a low attention span, Seyam said.  

"It feels really special to me because I've never done tatreez before," she said. "It's really touching to my heart."