{"id":16920,"date":"2026-09-10T09:07:44","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T07:07:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/?p=16920"},"modified":"2026-09-11T15:35:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T13:35:13","slug":"hand-embroidered-home-linen-in-marrakech-the-story-of-trass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/hand-embroidered-home-linen-in-marrakech-the-story-of-trass\/","title":{"rendered":"Hand-embroidered home linen in Marrakech: the story of Trass"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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It is the simplest stitch in all embroidery: the one a child reproduces instinctively, needle in hand, the one used to mend a hem or assemble a garment before the final seam. Trass brings this stitch into our hand-embroidered home linen in Marrakech<\/strong> for the first time. The city’s embroidery has been built around other techniques, other motifs, other methods. This encounter between a childlike technique and meticulous Moroccan know-how begins in India.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Kantha, an embroidery born in Bengal<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The stitch used to create our Trass embroidery comes from very far away: it is called the running stitch, and it lies at the heart of an Indian tradition called Kantha<\/strong>, originating in Bengal, between India and Bangladesh. Originally, Kantha serves to mend. In villages, women layer old worn saris, often silk, and assemble them stitch by stitch to compose a quilted fabric, destined to become a blanket, shawl, or hanging. Each worn cloth finds a second life.<\/p>

What characterizes a successful Kantha lies in the fineness of execution: the straighter the lines, the smaller and tighter the stitches, the more refined the piece. This degree of sophistication demands considerable time, and it is precisely this that has long kept this tradition confidential, almost secret, outside India. In recent years, Kantha has become fashionable. It appears everywhere, adapted onto new fabrics, with larger stitches that are faster to execute. The original know-how, the one Val\u00e9rie Barkowski sought out, remains rare: fine, meticulous work, almost poetic.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Hand-embroidered\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\u00a9Cilou de Bruyn<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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An encounter, nearly thirty years ago<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Val\u00e9rie Barkowski already encounters Kantha in Europe before discovering it properly in India, approximately twenty-five to thirty years ago. At that time, she frequents artisan fairs, in Jaipur, in Bombay, gatherings of several days where artisans from across the country sell their most accomplished pieces. These fairs precede the internet era: each discovery happens on site, in direct contact with objects and the hands that shaped them.<\/p>

She buys scarves, then bedspreads, always in their most sophisticated versions. What seduces her goes well beyond the running stitch<\/strong> itself: it is the entire piece. Several layers of fabric overlap and assemble like a quilt, held together by these single lines of regular stitches. The quality of the silk saris, the precision of execution, the beauty of an object born from salvage. The most refined pieces always attract her, those where one senses that each seamstress has taken the time for regularity.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u00a9Tania Panova<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The idea of more accessible linen<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The idea for Trass is born from a remark, one day, almost by chance. A friend suggests to Val\u00e9rie Barkowski that she add pieces at a more accessible price to her collection. She first thinks of machine embroidery, then reconsiders and thinks back to the running stitch seen in India, its speed of execution, its apparent simplicity. The idea takes root: border the pieces with a hand-embroidered line, around their entire perimeter, to create hand-embroidered home linen in Marrakech<\/strong> that is both accessible and fully artisanal.<\/p>

The table napkin becomes the first piece tested. The reasoning is simple: start small, with an everyday object, to verify whether the idea holds before extending it to the rest of the collection. Presented to the team as an easy, quick, almost obvious embroidery, the idea receives an enthusiastic welcome. What follows reserves quite another story.<\/p>

When Trass embroidery enters production, each person approaches it differently, each with their strengths, embroidery for some, another finish from the house for others. Each works at their own pace, and setting a fair price, timing work so irregular from one hand to another, becomes an exercise far more complex than anticipated.<\/p>

One fact alone sums up this paradox: the running stitch is among the most elementary techniques in all embroidery.<\/p>

This situation has a precise explanation. The running stitch belongs to a textile vocabulary foreign to the repertoire of Marrakech embroiderers, trained in other traditions, other motifs, other construction logics. Introducing a technique from elsewhere, even the simplest in appearance, requires an expert hand to relearn from another starting point. This explains, more than the technical difficulty itself, why Trass required so many adjustments before finding its definitive form.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\u00a9Tania Panova<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\u00a9Tania Panova<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Trass today<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Like most of the house’s creations, Trass is born from progressive adjustment: a sample, then a first series ordered for the boutique, then corrections based on feedback and concrete field experience. This way of working, slow and empirical, has remained the same for nearly thirty years.<\/p>

Today, Trass occupies a place apart in our hand-embroidered home linen in Marrakech<\/strong>. Its sobriety allows it to harmonize with all our collections. It is also a much-requested piece for made-to-order hotel linen<\/strong>: it highlights an artisanal intention, at a more accessible cost than the house’s most elaborate finishes, and it withstands the demands of professional laundering.<\/p>

Trass illustrates, ultimately, what happens when know-how travels from one country to another: it transforms at each stage. In the hands of Moroccan artisans, a simple Indian technique, with little thread, becomes a more refined, more meticulous embroidery, almost another finish. This is perhaps the true signature of the V.Barkowski brand from the beginning: transforming a heritage with each hand that takes it up, in each country that welcomes it.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Find Trass<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Trass collection adapts this running stitch across the house’s entire range of bed linen, hand-embroidered table linen<\/strong>, and bath linen: pillowcase, bed sheet, duvet cover, table napkin, placemat, tablecloth, bath sheet, shower sheet, bath towel, guest towel, and bath mat.<\/p>

\u2192 Discover the Trass hand-embroidered table linen \u2014 V.Barkowski e-shop<\/a><\/p>

\u2192 Made-to-order hotel linen \u2014 Marrakech atelier<\/a><\/p>

\u2192 Our textile atelier in Marrakech \u2014 V.Barkowski journal<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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To go further<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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For those curious to explore the subject further, “Kantha: The Embroidered Quilts of Bengal,”<\/em> the catalogue from the Philadelphia Museum of Art exhibition, remains a reference on this tradition. It is available directly from the museum shop: store.philamuseum.org<\/a>. Each purchase contributes to supporting the museum and its collections.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\u00a9Tania Panova<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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FAQ - Trass and Kantha embroidery<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What is Trass embroidery?<\/strong><\/h3>

Trass is a line of hand-embroidered home linen in Marrakech<\/strong> that borders each piece with a running stitch, hand-embroidered around the entire perimeter. It is the most accessible version of our hand-embroidered linen, designed to remain sober and harmonize with all the house’s collections.<\/p>

Where does the stitch used to embroider Trass come from?<\/strong><\/h3>

The running stitch is the central stitch of Kantha<\/strong>, an Indian tradition born in Bengal. Originally, it served to assemble and recycle old silk saris to create quilted fabrics. Val\u00e9rie Barkowski discovers it in India approximately twenty-five to thirty years ago, before introducing it in Marrakech.<\/p>

How does Trass differ from traditional Kantha?<\/strong><\/h3>

Traditional Kantha layers several pieces of recycled fabric to form an entire quilted object. Trass uses only the running stitch, which it applies as a border on new home linen. It is a reinterpretation of the gesture, not a reproduction of the object.<\/p>

Is Trass linen suitable for made-to-order hotel linen?<\/strong><\/h3>

Yes. Its sobriety and resistance to professional laundering make it a sought-after piece for hotels, which find in it a visible artisanal intention at a more accessible cost than the house’s most elaborate finishes.<\/p>

What pieces exist in the Trass collection?<\/strong><\/h3>

This collection is available in bed linen (pillowcase, sheet, duvet cover), hand-embroidered table linen<\/strong> (napkin, placemat, tablecloth), and bath linen (bath sheet, shower sheet, bath towel, guest towel, bath mat).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is the simplest stitch in all embroidery: the one a child reproduces instinctively, needle in hand, the one used to mend a hem or assemble a garment before the final seam. Trass brings this stitch into our hand-embroidered home linen in Marrakech for the first time. The city’s embroidery has been built around other …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17001,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[230],"tags":[577,575,578,576],"class_list":["post-16920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-across-our-collections","tag-hand-embroidered-table-linen","tag-kantha-embroidery","tag-made-to-order-hotel-linen","tag-running-stitch"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TRASS_Lingedemaison_designValerieBarkowski.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16920"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16931,"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16920\/revisions\/16931"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valeriebarkowski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}