Afghanistan · Leatherwork / Garment Making / Embroidery
پوستین (Postin)
The postin (پوستین) is the embroidered sheepskin coat of the Pashtun people — the most prestigious winter garment of southern and eastern Afghanistan. Worn with the fleece inside for warmth and the tanned leather outside embroidered with floral and geometric patterns, a fine postin is both a survival garment and a status object. The defining technical knowledge is the pelt preparation for embroidery: the leather outer surface must be tanned, dried, and scraped to a specific smoothness that accepts embroidery needle without the needle slipping — 'the leather must grip the needle as fabric grips thread — if the needle slides, the stitch will not hold.'
Risk level: Critically Endangered · Afghanistan national ICH list
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The cutting and hand-stitching of brightly colored fabric shapes onto a base cloth by hereditary family guilds of Abomey, capital of the former Kingdom of Dahomey in present-day Benin, producing appliqué banners, wall hangings, state…
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