TRASS Pillowcase – Set of 2

TRASS Pillowcase

The TRASS Pillowcase features a deceptively simple embroidery: a hand-stitched running stitch tracing the entire perimeter of the piece. Small lines of 3 to 5 mm follow one another with rhythmic regularity, creating a discreet path—a trace, or ‘trass’—which gave the collection its name.

The finish, explained for this piece

On the pillowcase, the Trass embroidery borders all four sides in a perfectly straight line: it is this rectitude, even more than the stitch itself, that demands the greatest dexterity from our artisans.

Unlike the flat sheet, where the stitching is limited to the width, here it wraps all the way around, just as it does on the duvet cover from the same collection.

Features & options

– Material: 100% white mercerised combed cotton, also available in white linen on request

– Solid colors: Beige, Brick, Carmine, Khaki, Plum, Water

– Multicolor options: Aqua, Crush, Fog, Haroun

– Closure: fabric ties

– Quantity: sold in pairs

– Bespoke: dimensions, colour, specific project → sales@valeriebarkowski.com

Available dimensions for the TRASS Pillowcase:

– Rectangular TRASS Pillowcase: 70 x 50 cm

– Square TRASS Pillowcase: 65 x 65 cm

Any other dimensions can be made to order – please contact us at sales@valeriebarkowski.com for any bespoke measurements.

Trass: the birth of a design

This embroidery owes its name to its very path—a small, discreet, and precise trace. Its origin, however, comes from much further afield than Marrakech:

Kantha is a traditional embroidery originating from Bengal, India, and Bangladesh: in the villages, women would layer and quilt old fabrics—often worn saris—together using a running stitch to give them a second life. This practice, passed down through generations for over a millennium, is renowned for its apparent simplicity: though it is the most elementary embroidery stitch, it requires great regularity to remain crisp and harmonious.

« I saw the running stitch endlessly in Southern India, where embroiderers practice Kantha: a quick, freehand embroidery, using very little thread.

It was this sobriety that made me want to bring it to Marrakech. But in transposing it, our artisans made it their own: they chose to work with more thread, and the stitching, now set perfectly straight along the edge, demands a precision I hadn’t initially imagined.

What was intended as a simple and swift technique became, in their hands, an entirely new finish – almost more demanding than the one from which it drew its inspiration. This is what I appreciate about the journey of craftsmanship from one country to another: it is never merely copied; it is always reinvented.”

Coordinating with the Collection

Understated and precise, the TRASS Pillowcase coordinates with the entire V.Barkowski collection, without exception. It finds a particular affinity with finishes that, like itself, forgo all-over embroidery—Dots or Yumi, for instance, whose graphic sobriety mirrors its own. More broadly, as with all our pieces, composing one’s bed linens remains above all a matter of personal taste.

Care

A 40°C wash on a delicate cycle is sufficient to preserve the integrity of the TRASS Pillowcase. Separate light and dark tones, favour air drying, and finish with a low-temperature iron.

It is also one of the finishes that best withstands the demands of professional laundering—a quality particularly appreciated by several hotels.

To go further

→ Read our article “The Kantha stitch, an embroidery from India”