How to decorate with suzanis: 15 ideas from our archive

Textiles impart pattern, warmth and texture to interiors, whether they are simple and understated or colourful and highly decorative. There should be room for both kinds in any space, and if you want to move beyond these and layer in some fantastic, fantastical textiles then a suzani is a wonderful way to do that.

The textile dealer Susan Deliss has specialised for many years in suzanis, and frequently uses them in her decorative schemes. Although the word “suzani” has become a somewhat generic term for central Asian embroidered textiles, listening to Susan talk about them for just a short while makes you realise just how fascinating they are. They have their own history, motifs, colours and stitches, and in short, they are worth getting to know a bit better. Susan’s showroom in Notting Hill is lined with boxes of exquisite textiles of all ages and appearances, and it is a joy to watch her pull out example after example and to hear the story of each piece.

“A suzani,” says Susan, is “a piece of needlework with a particular geographical heritage. Suzanis are, by tradition, from central Asian countries: Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan – and Uzbekistan where most of the good work comes from. The name comes from the Persian word suzan, which means needle.” Suzanis were used for all sorts of things: seating, wall coverings, wrappings and prayer mats. They were traditionally made by women before they married and then presented to the groom on the wedding day, representing the coming together of two families.

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These textiles are part of the region's folk art heritage, based on centuries-old patterns and sewing traditions that have been passed down through families. Most of the suzanis we see for sale are survivals from the mid-19th century onwards, although the making of them goes back far beyond that. Susan sells many suzanis that are new but made using traditional methods. They are often, regrettably, the sort of textiles other people sell as “antique” or #vintagesuzani. But they are selling modern textiles, often made with synthetic threads. A proper antique suzani, from the 19th century, could cost you (probably at auction) upward of £5,000 and nearer £10,000. You would probably hang such a suzani on the wall, should you be lucky enough to have one, as they are valuable enough to be considered as an artwork, and might not stand up to everyday wear and tear if you choose to use them for upholstery. Christie’s have a nice, succinct page about antique suzanis, complete with glorious examples you could invest in.

A more modern and authentic suzani, covered in good embroidery, might cost you around £1,000-£1,500, but it will start its life off with you and you won't need to worry so much about its fragility. Suzanis are very often large cloths, embroidered on cotton (occasionally silk) that has been woven on a traditional loom. In order to make larger suzanis, two or three panels of cotton might be sewn together. After this, traditionally, a “master” will draw the pattern design on the cotton in pen. The panels are then separated, embroidered and put back together (sometimes you can see slight breaks in colour, or abrash, where two different panels of embroidery have been re-joined). A suzani embroidery would traditionally have been worked on by one family, the embroidery done with cotton or silk thread. There are only a few stitches used on a traditional suzani – chain, satin and buttonhole stitches – to work across the whole of the cloth.