WHİTE EMBROİDERY 

These works are referred to as ‘white works’ due to the use of white fabric base and white thread.  

There are various embroidery techniques within this scope. Since these works are mostly seen in the last century, they are not included in the scope of ‘Turkish Embroidery’.

Works known as antique, Antep work, hemstitch or hollow, wrapping work fall within this category.  

Antep Work

Antique Antep work is a form of decoration applied with different embroidery techniques in stages with pure silken threads in their natural colours generally on silken fabrics known as birman, demor and open crêpe coloured in beige and white.

In Antep work, weft and warp yarns are applied on fabric woven at the same thickness. For the purposes of visibility of embroidery, the fabric must definitely be flat.  

While Antep works were formerly used only on household linens; they now have a quite different and wide range of products, enriching various designs from jewellery, boards to clothes and wedding gowns with embroidery.

History

Although the actual origins of Antep works are not known for certain, they are known to have been first applied on scarves worn by men on the head and the legs of groom’s clothes in the villages of Gaziantep in 1850s. They were later used on silken fabrics for household linens in cities.

Embroidery Technique

The weft and warp yarns of the woven technique are cut to create areas where the desired motif will be embroidered. It is of great importance that appropriate areas are created for the desired motif.  

Antep work is a rich technique where various embroidery styles, known as susma and hemstitch, are used together to create various models. Today, they are produced with the same embroidery technique but by using purl, coloured yarns and ancillary needles.        

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