GET TO KNOW SUZANIS, SO COLOURFUL AND GRAPHIC
New ideas revive a centuries-old art of handstitching and embroidery that originated in Central Asia
Is the suzani a secret ingredient for stylish, free-spirited home design?
Graphic, colourful and intricate, suzanis are the Central Asian equivalent of the American quilt. Although probably also made centuries earlier, the oldest suzani examples known of to date are from the 18th century, and were typically created by women as part of their dowry.
Suzanis were hand-stitched and hand-embroidered with a small tool like a crochet hook ( suzan means “needle” in Persian) and were used to cover beds, tables, windows, walls and even horses. They were sometimes used as prayer mats.
With solid neutral cotton or silk backgrounds often stitched together in pieces, the defining characteristic of suzanis is their intricately embroidered or appliquéd patterns — vines, leaves, flowers (especially tulips and carnations) and fruits such as pomegranates. It’s reminiscent of ancient Greek or Ottoman Empire designs and applied in rich colours using natural dyes made from indigo, pomegranates, walnuts and other organic sources.
What makes vintage suzanis so appealing in that offbeat, bohemian kind of way, are their imperfections. Because they were handmade, the patterns often don’t line up and the stitching, while beautiful, is not always uniform.
Perhaps no one has been a greater champion of suzanis in the U.S. than Marian McEvoy, former editor-in- chief of Elle Decor and House Beautiful magazines. McEvoy, whose Hudson Valley home is featured in Miguel Flores-Vianna’s book Haute Bohemi
ans, has been an avid suzani admirer since she spotted a huge specimen in Paris almost three decades ago.
Suzanis are “upbeat, folkloric, exotic and hard to ignore,” McEvoy says. They’re also incredibly versatile: ornate and fanciful, graphic and bold. McEvoy considers suzanis as much a decorative staple as toile and has thrown them over beds and on the backs of sofas, hung framed suzani fragments on her walls, and applied them to chair backs, stools or pillows.
Plenty of suzani examples can be found on eBay, but many are new. A telltale sign of newness is bright synthetic colours — lime greens, purples and pinks — that were not used when vintage pieces were created.
As for high-end, suzani-inspired fabric and carpet designs, there are plenty available; designers such as Madeline Weinrib have peppered their collections with the motifs.
If you are looking for affordable suzani-inspired fabrics with which to upholster furniture or make curtains and pillows, check online sources such as housefabric.com and onlinefabricstore.net. Target and Pier 1 sell ready-made, suzani-inspired curtain panels and kitchen items including plates and mugs. Garnet Hill and Serena & Lily have recently introduced new suzani quilt designs, and Pottery Barn and Safavieh have rugs that echo traditional patterns.