Gaziantep Hand Lace (El İşi)
Hand lace is made by counting and pulling thread on white fabric. The drawn threads are wrapped with white, yellow and cream colored threads and knitted to complete the openwork. Although it is not known exactly when handwork started, it is known that the slipper motifs worn by men in the villages of Gaziantep in the 1850s were embroidered on finer fabrics in the city. It was called by this name because it was made by housewives in Antep region. According to some rumors, it was made by minorities living in Gaziantep and released to European markets. The fact that the embroidery commonly made by the people of Gaziantep today has the characteristics of old Turkish embroidery, shows that these embroidery were made by the Antep region. Today, very beautiful embroideries are made by using glitter, colored threads and auxiliary embroidery needles without spoiling the embroidery technique.
