Pateh Douzi, also known as “Selseleh Douzi” or “Fateh Douzi” is an important
handicraft of Kerman province. Fortunately, this craft is still being practiced and
making Patehs is one of the most flourishing trades of the region. Due to
vulnerability of textiles no Pateh product has survived from the ancient times,
and very little is known about its history. However, according to travel
documentaries and texts that belong to Safavid dynasty, we can be almost
certain that Pateh was quite popular in Kerman during that time.
Pateh Douzi, or art of sewing Pateh, is a kind of embroidery in which all over of
the textile is covered by colorful stitches. The makers of Pateh are most
commonly young girls and women of Kerman who sew the patterns from their
own imagination on wide and thick fabrics called “Ariz” or “Shawl”. Ariz is a
handmade fabric that in the past was used to make skirts, coats and women
overcoats. This fabric is made by textile machinery, both manual and automatic,
in colors such as red, yellow, white, blue and green. “Ris” or the yarn that is
used in Pateh is a wool yarn that was handspun in the past but today it is spun
by machines. Traditionally the yarns are dyed with colors such as burgundy,
black, light or dark green, yellow, orange, red, dark blue and etc., but new
colors have been added to Pateh color palettes. In the past, Golabatoon and silk
yarns were used, too.
One of the traits of Pateh which adds to its beauty and delicacy is the traditional
motif of tree of life or “Boteh Jegheh”, paisley. It is one of the most popular
Iranian motif.Today Pateh is most common in cities such as Kerman, Sirjan and
Rafsanjan, and is used to make tablecloth, cover of holy Quran, curtains,
cushions, bed covers, decorating parts of clothing and traditional dolls. Pateh
has long been considered a part of dowry of young girls of Kerman and this is
one of the reasons why it is still thriving.