Assuit

Tulle-bi-telli, which is frequently called Assuit (or Asyut, Assyut, Assiut, and other variations), is a textile marrying cotton or linen mesh with small strips of metal. Tulle-bi-telli translates roughly as "net with metal," but it looks much nicer than its plain name. Assuit is the city where it is made. It's located about 234 miles south of Cairo and is the largest town in Upper Egypt.

Assuit was first settled in pharaonic times, and was then called Syut. It had considerable strategic value because of its positioning between Upper and Lower Egypt [ [http://touregypt.net/asyuttop.htm Tour Egypt - Asyut] ] . Textiles similar in concept to tulle-bi-telli date back to these ancient times. "It is believed that some form of metal embroidery in Egypt dates back to the ancient dynasties" [ [http://www.liquidsilverdesigns.com/about/index.html Liquid Silver Designs] ] . Metal thread embroidery was used extensively throughout the Middle East, Asia, and parts of Europe, and references are made to its use with Egyptian linen in the Bible [ [http://www.bou-saada.com/bousaada.com/pages/asuit.html Assuit by Yasmela] ] .

"In the Museum of Montbijou at Berlin are preserved specimens of netting made by Egyptians over three thousand years ago. These nets are made from flax. The Egyptian production of this hand-made net surpasses modern fibers in intricacy of design, each net composed of some three-hundred and sixty-five individual fibers. Their dye techniques were equally sophisticated; metallic salts to improve the fastness of dyes has been found in textiles in tombs dating from before 1500 B.D. These early embroideries were done with the application of precious metals, especially gold. The pure metal was beaten into thin plates, divided into small slips which were rounded by a hammer, and then filed to form wire. Few remains of ancient wire work have been found. This net would certainly have qualified as "transparent", as shown on the tomb pictures" [ [http://www.bdancer.com/history/BDhist3.html Origins of Oriental Dance] ]

In the New Testament, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph flee to Egypt during Jesus' infancy. Due to a vision had by Pope Theophilus near the end of the third century CE, some people believe the Holy Family went to Mount Qussqam in Assuit, and stayed in a cave for six months and ten days [ [http://www.st-mary-mons.org/english/holy_family_in_egypt.htm Holy Family in Egypt] ] . The Monastery of Al-Muharraq was built in this area. In the Coptic era, an altar to Mary was built in the monastery [ [http://www.touregypt.net/holyfamily7.htm The Holy Family at Al Ashmounein Town, Malawy] ] .

In 1893, Orientalism was very populat. "Belly dance" was introduced to the American public at the Chicago World Fair, and so was tulle-bi-telli. The fabric was sold as souvenirs on the Midway [ [http://www.bou-saada.com/bousaada.com/pages/asuit.html Assuit by Yasmela] ] .

In 1922, King Tutankhamen's tomb was discovered, triggering another wave of Orientalism. All of a sudden, pretty much everything Egyptian was highly desirable. It influenced fashion, dance, and film.

Tulle-bi-telli is hot and heavy, but it drapes very, very well. It was used in Hollywood productions, like the lost Cecil B. DeMille opus "Cleopatra". It was draped on Hedy Lamarr in "Samson and Delilah". It was worn extensively as dresses in old Egyptian musicals. It was also worn draped over the head, as wraps, and as wedding gowns. And even if it wasn't being worn, it was being used to decorate. Piano shawls were extremely popular, and specimens can still be found on occasion in antique shops.

Shawls come in different sizes. Most of them are long and narrow, and the designs vary. They range from the simple to the elaborate, and some people believe designs have been passed down through families, as in weaving and embroidery work. "The patterns include tents, mosques, birds, trees, stick people, stars, snowflake-like starbursts, diagonal lines, camels, god's eyes and any number of geometrics" [ [http://www.bou-saada.com/bousaada.com/pages/asuit.html Assuit by Yasmela] ] . Some designs appear to be intentionally left incomplete.

Egypt is approximately 85% Muslim and somewhere between 6% and 14% Christian. 92% of the Christians belong to the Coptic Church [ [http://www.persecution.org/Countries/egypt.html Christian Persecution in Egypt] ] . Coptic Christian designs often have animal and human figures, whereas Muslim shawls rely on geometric designs. It is considered un-Islamic to represent living things in art. In some places, tulle-bi-telli shawls are known as Coptic shawls. The geometric designs were popular with the Art Deco movement, beginning around 1925.

The ground of vintage tulle-bi-telli is an openwork lace mesh, closely resembling what is known as 'double torchon' [ [http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/lace/grounds.htm Simple Lace Grounds] ] when made by hand. The construction gives it great lateral elasticity, but it's very stable in other directions [ [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/crispin.roche/elaine.htm Elaine Fraser] ] .

Thin strips of metal -- copper wire, silver, pot metal, brass, chrome-plated base metals, or even 14-carat gold [ [http://www.bellydancing.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/turkish_oriental.html Turkish Oriental Recommended Supplier] ] -- are threaded onto a flat, wide needle with a flat, wide eye. Each strip is approximately 1/8" wide and 1/8" to 1/4" long. The strips are threaded into the mesh, criss-crossed, flattened with the fingernails, and cut. The fabric is then stamped down, and when the designs are finished, the fabric is passed through a roller to flatten the metal even more [ [http://www.liquidsilverdesigns.com/about/index.html Liquid Silver Designs] ] .

The fabric as we know it seems to have first appeared in the late 1800s. "The invention of the bobinet machine in Tulle, France in the early nineteenth century gave impetus to the popularity of a hexagonal mesh fabric and it became commonly known as tulle. An enterprising Frenchman built a small net factory in Upper Egypt to help stimulate the seriously depressed economy, hoping to create a cottage industry relying on the special embroidery skills of the Egyptians who lived in this region" [ [http://www.bou-saada.com/bousaada.com/pages/asuit.html Assuit by Yasmela] ] .

It has also been said that the tulle-bi-telli industry developed as a social service program to create work for the blind. Apparently, the design would be planned and started by sighted people and the blind artisans could finish it by touch" [ [http://www.liquidsilverdesigns.com/about/index.html Liquid Silver Designs] ] . Some people say the highest quality vintage tulle-bi-telli was flattened by chewing, and that the metal should have tooth-marks.

The best way to store tulle-bi-telli is to leave it dropped in a loose heap, rearranging it now and then to prevent folds from occurring in the metal. Hanging isn't recommended because the fabric could stretch and tear under its own weight. It should also be kept in a dry, dark place. Exposure to sunlight can fade the fabric and discolour the metal, and dampness can damage the thread [ [http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Alley/3535/costume.html The Origins of Asyut] ] .

Tulle-bi-telli is going through another resurgence, both in the Middle Eastern dance community and in the fashion world. Tulle-bi-telli is used by folkloric Middle Eastern, American Tribal Style, tribal fusion, and North American nightclub dancers.

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