TERMEH, A ONE-OF-A-KIND WOVEN FABRIC

What is Termeh?

Termeh is a delicate woven fabric out of silk, cotton, and wool. Weaving Termeh is sensitive and time-consuming work. In the past, it takes one full day to weave only 25 to 30 centimeters with cooperation between two persons, an expert and a worker. 

Nowadays, Producers for weaving larger and more elaborate design of fabric needs to use an expensive pieces of machinery. Although they use complex machinery to produce Termeh in a fast way, it still takes a month to weave 20 yards of Termeh.

‘’Once the designer had created a new pattern it had to be transferred onto ruled paper from which it could be ‘programmed’ into the loom, the weaver being able to see the order and combinations in which small groups of wrap thread had to be raised. It could take up to six weeks to prepare a loom for a complex design – time during which no income was being generated, so it is not surprising that uncomplicated patterns predominated.’’¹

Origin

The origin of the Termeh is back to the early Safavid period in Isfahan (1501-1736). Among researches, there is an argument about the origin of this delicate, beautiful fabric. Some believe it traces back to India and others believe it comes from Persia. Despite this argument, it does not matter where it exactly comes from. What is matter is to keep it alive and present it to the world. You are able to purchase the high-quality ranges of Termeh in Yazd province, Iran.

Pattern

The main pattern uses in Termeh is different forms of Paisley in many ranges of colors. In the production of Termeh, the more colors use the more expensive the fabric is. ‘’The simplest type of design is one in which a single motif is repeated in a band across the width and then in identical bands above it.’’ ²

Stay tuned. Next blog is about paisley symbols and its journey from east to west.

1. Wearden, P.L Baker, Iranian Textile, V&A Publishing, 2010
2. Wearden, P.L Baker, Iranian Textile, V&A Publishing, 2010