Termeh, a luxurious Persian textile

Persian Handwoven Fabric, which is woven with silk and wool and sometimes with gold and silver. It is mainly used for decorative purposes in important ceremonies and in making various items such as table-cloths, bed sheets, scarves, cushion covers, curtains, garments, waist bands, robes, royal headdress and even bags and shoes.

It is woven since Safavid era in late 16th century in Iran. There is an argument between researchers about its origin. Some believes that Termeh has been made in Kashmir and then brought to Iran. Others say that Iranian have been the innovators of weaving Termeh. And this material has been taken into concentration like other handicrafts in other parts of the world. But it is a real fact that Iranian Termeh is much better in comparison with what ever produced in Kashmir. And it has different colors and designs.

In the past, the first step in Termeh weaving was preparing its raw materials. So it was very important to be careful while preparing wool, washing and drying with herbal color. Weaving Termeh needs a good wool which has tall fibers. Weaving Termeh was a very sensitive and time-consuming work. A good weaver could produce only 25 to 30 centimeters (1 feet) in a day. A weaving machines are made by traditional wooden machines in territory of producing the Termeh by industrial developers. This machine is Chaharverdi which moving by pedals bottom of the weaver’s foot. After providing the raw material and weaving, the second stage is to warp.

The background colors which are used in Termeh are mostly jujube red, light red, green, orange and black.