etymology of word "sequin" and embroidery

[cathy]

I just got an old book (second hand) called The Embroideries of North Africa by Caroline Stone, published by Longman UK in 1985. It's a really beautiful book. Looks like a few copies are available used on Amazon.

It covers embroideries of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and "in the Turkish manner." NOT dance costumes per se (so I didn't put this thread under costumes), no pictures of two-piece bedlah or anything remotely like them. But it has gorgeous pictures of traditional embroideries!

One of the things that jumped out at me is the etymology of the word "sequin." From 1617 it's the name of an Italian or Turkish coin, and the word comes from the Arabic "sikkah" which means "minting die." However she says she has found mention of sequin embroidery dating from the 13th century in England, which surprised me. However she says what we now call sequins were probably called "spangles" until about 100 years ago--which given that this was published 1985 would mean 1885.

Still, there aren't that many words in English with Arabic roots so I was charmed that this is one.

Cathy

 

[adiemus]

That's a great story! I love etymology, it's like tracing the history of people through the language they use. Is the book worthwhile as inspiration for beading designs?

 

[Shanazel]

Oh, Cathy, how could you? You mentioned a book on embroidery that I don't have, that I've thought about buying, and that I now must go straight to Amazon to order. Such an addiction I deal with. Tsk.

Spangles have been used in goldwork and related embroideries for many centuries. There are some gorgeous opus anglicanum examples.

Well, I've forgiven you for driving me to buy another book. Thank you for the trivia tidbit!

PS you might also be interested in a book called Moroccan Textile Embroidery by Isabelle Denamur.

 

[karena]

I like that sequin should come from Arabic - a nice bit of symmetry.

This is a really nice site that has lots of English words that originate from Arabic:
Arabic words in English
If you click on them, it gives more info. The sequin entry seems to be similar to the entry in the book.

 

[Creaky Old Dancer]

etymology of word sequin

Hi Cathy, does the book give some instruction on the stitches or is it mostly pictures and history of North African embroidery. If you have seen any of the books by Sheila Paine... how would you compare them. Just wondering if I should add to my collection of embroidery books. Thanks Creaks

 

[khanjar]

From my school days, and mathematics, I learned Algebra is Arabic origin, literally Al Jabr meaning restoration, referring to the operation of taking a negative quantity from one side of an equation, to become a positive quantity on the other side of the equation.

Looking now, the word is part of Al-kitab al muhtasar fi hisab al-jabr wa-l-muqabala, an Islamic text book written by Al-Khwarizmi roughly in the year 825 c.e. translated as the condensed book of calculation, comparing and restoring, (the algebraic equation method).

The book was written by Al-Khwarizmi, whilst he was one of the first scholars working at the New House of Wisdom in Baghdad, the then commercial and intellectual centre and capital city founded by Caliph al-Mansur in 766 c.e.

The job of the scholars was to collect and translate the classical Greek mathematical and scientific texts rescued from the persecution and destruction of the Academy at Athens and the Library at Alexandria. The New House of Wisdom, was sort of a research institute.

So all that knowledge might have been lost forever was kept for the future, it is just a pity that knowlege and the action of Algebra cannot be applied to east/ west and world relations. Interestingly though, in any community other than religious or governmental, east/west is largely irrelevant, the only difference, is language.

 

[cathy]

Throughout the book there are marginal drawings and notes about motifs--fish, snakes, hands, flowers, monsters, peacocks, trees.

At the end there are about 7 pages on "stitches and applications" --long-armed cross stitch, double back stitch, brick stitch and variants, diagonal chevron stitch, and so on.

As far as ideas for beading patterns, I'm honestly not sure. Some of the patterns are incredibly detailed and beautiful, but not a lot of beads except gilt thread and sequins and tiny gold beads on one child's tunic. This is all traditional clothing, wedding tunics, scarves, veils, robes, cushion borders, and so on. NOT bedlah. But I'm probably limited by imagination here. And my non-existent needlework skills.

When it comes to embroidery, I'm an appreciator, not a practitioner. At least not yet....

Khanjar, Yes I have read a little about the House of Wisdom and knew about the Arabic origins of algebra and also the concept zero (I think)

I can see why you posted this here. It's all about patterns. I sometimes imagine Arabic art patterns being drawn in space by choreography.

 

[Shanazel]

I received my copy of The Embroideries of North Africa in the mail yesterday. It is a lovely book, though somewhat misnamed since it concentrates on the embroideries of Tunisia and Morrocco and largely ignores the rest of the northern continent.

Creaks, this is not a how-to book, but if you have any background in embroidery you will be able to figure out patterns and methods. Most of the stitches are common (satin, darning, stem, etc.) with Algerian Eye Stitch maybe being the most exotic (it is an eyelet stitch). I am only really familiar with Payne's Embroidered Textiles, which is a beautiful book. Emb of NA is not nearly as lavishly illustrated, but it does have some nice photos and line drawings, as Cathy says, and the narrative seems to be pretty decent (I haven't read far yet). I only paid $20 for a new hardback copy and think it worth adding to my own collection.

Ya gotta understand, though- embroidery is both a profession and lifelong passion for me, so my collection of books on the subject is probably what most people would consider ridiculously large. I've begun to concentrate on ethnic surface embroidery in recent years and am always happy to find a new book on the subject.

Cathy, should you ever become interested in learning embroidery, you might seek out the closest chapter of Embroiderers Guild of America. I have belonged to the organization for over twenty years and it has brought me so much in terms of knowledge, friendships, and professional advancement. Anything you want to learn, someone in EGA knows. I even know a certified teacher in EGA who teaches bedlah construction (me )

 

[cathy]

Cathy, should you ever become interested in learning embroidery, you might seek out the closest chapter of Embroiderers Guild of America. I have belonged to the organization for over twenty years and it has brought me so much in terms of knowledge, friendships, and professional advancement. Anything you want to learn, someone in EGA knows. I even know a certified teacher in EGA who teaches bedlah construction (me )

Shanazel, The more I learn about you, the more I admire you.

Maybe you could post some pics of your creations?

Cathy

 

[khanjar]

Throughout the book there are marginal drawings and notes about motifs--fish, snakes, hands, flowers, monsters, peacocks, trees.

At the end there are about 7 pages on "stitches and applications" --long-armed cross stitch, double back stitch, brick stitch and variants, diagonal chevron stitch, and so on.

As far as ideas for beading patterns, I'm honestly not sure. Some of the patterns are incredibly detailed and beautiful, but not a lot of beads except gilt thread and sequins and tiny gold beads on one child's tunic. This is all traditional clothing, wedding tunics, scarves, veils, robes, cushion borders, and so on. NOT bedlah. But I'm probably limited by imagination here. And my non-existent needlework skills.

When it comes to embroidery, I'm an appreciator, not a practitioner. At least not yet....

Khanjar, Yes I have read a little about the House of Wisdom and knew about the Arabic origins of algebra and also the concept zero (I think)

I can see why you posted this here. It's all about patterns. I sometimes imagine Arabic art patterns being drawn in space by choreography.

The Arab region culture is ancient, it holds much wisdom and the efforts of the House of Wisdom has brought much of the ancient into the modern world, we can thank them for that, along with the myriad of inventions and discoveries we in the rest of the world, a younger world perhaps use on a day to day basis.

Hmmm Arabian patterns being drawn in space by choreography, well the three dimensional elliptical movement is a process of the planets and other astral bodies, the Arabs were in past, masters of astronomy.

Life is about patterns, they exist for our recognition in everything.

 

[Shanazel]

Shanazel, The more I learn about you, the more I admire you.

Maybe you could post some pics of your creations?

Cathy

What a sweet thing to say! Thank you. Most of the teaching bedlahs I have are fairly plain since the class emphasis is on construction as opposed to decoration (embellishment is another class), but I'll see if I can figure out how to post pictures from my computer. I don't make elaborate bedlahs anymore except on a rare occasion when I get a commission- too labor intensive for something I no longer have the figure for, and too risky to build on spec.

Oh, what a surprise. I actually got the pictures to work, but I don't want to hijack the thread, so I'll post them elsewhere.

Oh, NUTS! I can't figure out how to detach them. Sorry, moderators! PLease zap them for me and I'll put the pictures in anothr sub-forum.

 

[karena]

Oh, NUTS! I can't figure out how to detach them. Sorry, moderators! PLease zap them for me and I'll put the pictures in anothr sub-forum.

Removed . And I feel a little proud as I didn't even know how to do that till I gave it a go

 

[cathy]

What a sweet thing to say! Thank you. Most of the teaching bedlahs I have are fairly plain since the class emphasis is on construction as opposed to decoration (embellishment is another class), but I'll see if I can figure out how to post pictures from my computer. I don't make elaborate bedlahs anymore except on a rare occasion when I get a commission- too labor intensive for something I no longer have the figure for, and too risky to build on spec.

Oh, what a surprise. I actually got the pictures to work, but I don't want to hijack the thread, so I'll post them elsewhere.

Oh, NUTS! I can't figure out how to detach them. Sorry, moderators! PLease zap them for me and I'll put the pictures in anothr sub-forum.

I PM'd you. Though really, others might want to see them too! This isn't really an etymology thread but an embroidery thread now. Cathy

 

[Shanazel]

Cathy, I was cleaning out my overloaded mailbox this morning and accidently zapped your address. :doh: Please send it to me again.

OKay, since you started thethread, I reckon it can go from sequins to embroideryif you agree- the two are not completely unrelated to each other or Other Dance Stuff.

As I said, my teaching bedlahs are typically plain since the course is about construction rather than embellishment which is a separate class. The second picture is embroidery- couching, ffrench knot, stem stitch, wave stitch, a bit of beading. The third is painting on velvet, a technique I have been experimenting with on a number of fabrics with painted skirts and abas in mind. The fourth is a form of embroidery used on traditional clothes for Yemenite Jews.

 

[Shanazel]

There is a gold coin bra that goes with the gold belt, but I don't have a good picture of it. This hipband also has great big foofs of gold lame to tuck in at each side for more hip emphasis. As you see, compared to the beauties turned out by other members of the forum, my bedlahs are pretty conservative, but remember that these are teaching pieces and construction techniques need to be visible from both sides of the garment. The one in this picture has actually been worn in the days before I reached my present Juno-esque proportions and gave up bedlah. I left the cups of the bra dark and emphasized the hips because I am quite busty and don't wish to draw extra attention to that part of me.

 

[alosha]

:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:


wow. didn't realize we were limited on smilies... I guess 10 will do though!

 

[Shanazel]

And every one appreciated- thanks, Alosha.

 

[karena]

To suit my pedantry , I've amended the title, so go in the direction you will...

 

[Shanazel]

A pedant you may be, but you are OUR pedant! Thanks, Karena.

 

[cathy]

Wow! Shanazel, I'm impressed!!! :clap:

Beautiful dancer and veil piece. I think my favorite is the Yemenite one. About what size is that, and what kind of thread? It looks more like wool and less shiny that the stuff I usually think of as "embroidery." Also the bedlah are quite nice too.

You are one multi-talented woman!

And I PM'd you again. Thanks for posting those! Cathy