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One eight-point star stitched four times, once in each quarter of the sheet. The grounds are linen, indigo, olive and madder, and each star is worked in the thread colours its ground is not.
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Tatreez

Four Grounds

No. 18 of 20 · free · 300 dpi

What you seeOne eight-point star stitched four times, once in each quarter of the sheet. The grounds are linen, indigo, olive and madder, and each star is worked in the thread colours its ground is not.

What it meansThese are the cloth and thread colours of the thobe, the long embroidered dress of Palestine: undyed linen, indigo and madder dyes, and olive from the land. The star is one of the most common motifs in tatreez, the cross-stitch embroidery traditionally worked by women on the dress.

Where it worksOne motif, four grounds, so the eye compares how the same stitch reads on light and dark cloth. Bold and balanced, it reads well at any distance.

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2:3 · 7200 × 10800 px4×6 · 8×12 · 12×18 · 16×24 · 20×30 · 24×36 in
3:4 · 5400 × 7200 px6×8 · 9×12 · 12×16 · 18×24 in
4:5 · 7200 × 9000 px4×5 · 8×10 · 16×20 · 24×30 in
11:14 · 3300 × 4200 px11×14 in
A-series · 7023 × 9933 pxA5 · A4 · A3 · A2 · A1

Everything is one ZIP: every shape and size, the phone wallpaper, the SVGs and a printing guide.

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More from Tatreez

All 20 prints
A long border piece laced into a wooden scroll frame. Finished bands are wound onto the bottom roller as stripes, bands in madder, gold and olive are worked up the cloth, one stops mid-row with its needle parked, and pencilled bands wait above.Scroll FrameNo. 19
The bottom of a dress on indigo. The upper field is powdered with small motifs, then the hem gathers its borders at once in teeth, stars, hooks, cypresses and diamonds, in madder, gold, rose and olive.HemNo. 20
A single eight-point star in madder red on undyed linen cream. Every stitch is enlarged into a bold square tile with its cross cut into it, and the counted holes of the linen show between.One StarNo. 1
A star held taut in a wooden embroidery hoop with a brass screw clamp. The madder outline is worked, the indigo fill is coming down from the top, the rest is marked in pencil, and the working thread runs across the ring and off the sheet.The HoopNo. 2
A full chest panel on a dark dress ground. A double frame with star-filled corners holds bands of hooked zigzags and chains of small diamonds around a diamond medallion with a star at its heart, with borders of gold diamonds above and below.QabbehNo. 3
Border bands stacked edge to edge on linen cream: stepped teeth, running stars, S-hooks, cypress rows, zigzags, chains of diamonds and chevrons. Single lines of stitch rule each band off from the next.BandsNo. 4
Twenty motifs in madder and dark madder on undyed linen with its counted holes, ruled into a grid by a running stitch. Stars, cypresses, diamonds, chevrons and small all-over fillings each get their own square.SamplerNo. 5
The whole sheet is worked in madder cross-stitch except one large eight-point star, left as bare linen and traced by a single darker row of stitch. A small star worked in outline marks its centre.Linen ShowsNo. 6

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Two square bands woven over and under each other into an eight-point star, on a near-black ground.KnotKhatam · No. 7
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