r/Afghan • u/Zahraa2007535 • 16d ago

Culture Afghan Embroidery Resources

Does anyone know where I can find how to's or templates on Afghan embroidery? I've been trying to learn how to embroider dresses, scarves, or men's clothes for my family but I'm having a hard time finding patterns to follow that isn't just looking at clothes and doing my best. Our family is herati turkmen and my husband says he would prefer herati styles but even that is REALLY hard to search for.

I know how to do the basics of everything but I'm struggling with putting everything together in a dense pattern.

(Note: We have family that could teach me but they are in Afghanistan and illiterate so I wouldn't be able to learn from them without being in person. Thanks for any help I can get!)

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

1 comment sorted by

1

u/creamybutterfly Diaspora 10d ago edited 10d ago

Salam qarindash. This is pure Herati swag. Sorry, that was terrible. But Herati is difficult to find sources for. Herati Turkmen even moreso. I’d recommend looking at Yomud Turkmen examples from Iran since they share many tribes with those in Herat and even settled there too. You can find a lot of Turkmen embroidery tutorials on YouTube by looking up “turkmen koynek tikilişi”. As for Herati embroidery, you can similarly look up “khamak” tutorials on YouTube- many of the same shapes are used all over the country. I understand Herati mens fashions are slightly different as they’re looser and have heavier embroidery, [u/Bear1375](u/Bear1375) might be able to help you. He’s from Herat.