So what on earth led me into this gold work phase? We could start with my first trip to Tunisia in the 80s, when a friend’s mom dressed me up in traditional wedding clothes of Ksibet El Medouni.
Each town in Tunisia had its own bridal style. If you’re from Hammamet, you’d wear the Hammamet style wedding clothes. If you’re from Ksibet El Medouni, you’d of course wear something like this. There are many layers to their traditional clothing, which is topped with a long woven “malia” (this link gives you an idea of the variation of styles). Two things are common to all Tunisian bridal wear: jewelry and gold work.
This summer, I’m going to a formal wedding in Beirut. They are a lovely couple… so cute to see how excited they are about bringing their lives together. I’d love to wear something that reflects my ties to Tunisia. Goldwork certainly would be lovely.
Having perused all of those lovely books, I decided that whatever I make should definitely be something that I can wear again. This means real gold is out. Never fear, I’ve already started imagining a couple of projects where I’ll use the real thing. I have a dark teal silk mix fabric in my stash. Metallic machine embroidery on a “fouta et blousa” style two pieces ensemble is the thought of the moment.
Ok, I don’t think I’ll get this fancy, but step back and let your imagination wander
So think of me this weekend, making the muslin, playing with stabilizers and putting my sewing machine to work.
