Turn over a piece embroidered in Fez and you will understand what makes it so singular: the back is almost as perfect as the front. No knots, no loose threads. This embroidery, called terz fassi, is one of the most refined crafts in Moroccan handiwork.
An embroidery born in the medina
Fez, one of Morocco’s oldest imperial cities, has been a great centre of craftsmanship for centuries: leather, ceramics, wood, metal… and textiles. Its medina long welcomed skills from all over the Mediterranean world, including those of the Andalusian families who settled in the city over the course of history. Fassi embroidery bears the mark of these crossed influences.
For generations, this embroidery was passed down from woman to woman, within families. It adorned household linen and was often part of the trousseau prepared for a wedding: tablecloths, napkins, bed linen, precious pieces kept for a lifetime.
What makes it unique
Rigorous geometry. Fez embroidery patterns are made of lines, stars, diamonds and borders. They are stitched by counting the threads of the fabric, one by one, often without any drawing beforehand: everything lies in the hand and the memory of the embroiderer.
A single colour. Traditionally, Fassi embroidery is monochrome: midnight blue, brick red, fir green or black, on a white or ecru background. This restraint highlights the precision of the pattern.
Two identical sides. This is its signature: a stitch worked so that the pattern looks the same on both sides of the fabric. A napkin embroidered in Fez has, so to speak, no wrong side.
A craft that takes time
A napkin can take several hours, a tablecloth several days, sometimes several weeks of work. It is this time, this patience and this precision that you find in each piece, along with the slight variations that make the difference between something made by hand and something mass-produced.
Today, machine embroidery has spread widely in the markets, because it is faster and cheaper. Handwork is becoming rarer, and all the more precious.
How to recognise hand embroidery
- Turn the piece over: a neat back, without knots or long connecting threads, is a good sign.
- Look closely: small irregularities from one motif to the next reveal the embroiderer’s hand.
- Feel the relief: the thread is laid stitch by stitch, with a slight thickness.
Keeping Fez embroidery alive
At Dar Alma, we select each piece in Fez, from craftswomen whose work we know. Our hand-embroidered napkins and tablecloths carry on this craft while finding their place on today’s tables.
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