Hi everyone!
It’s been a very, very long hiatus, but I’m just about done with graduate school and hopefully able to devote more time to the blog! This post will definitely be a departure from my food posts, but now that I have the time, I’d love to get back into crafts.
Ramadan is in two days *gasps.* It’s been very hectic lately and if like me, you waited till the last minute to buy/make your decor, here’s a very easy DIY banner that’s sure to make things more festive. The whole process took under ten minutes!
Khayamiya is a traditional, arabesque and Islamic-motif-inspired, Egyptian textile and art form that roughly translates to tent maker/tent maker appliqué in Arabic. Originally Khayamiya was hand-stitched but with the advent of modernity, is now mass-produced and widely available. However, you can (and should) find original pieces on a street called (wait for it) Shar’ah el Shayamiya in Khan el Khalili. The fabric is often used to make tents, throw pillows and the like and are often the backdrop to weddings, festivities and funerals.
For me, Khayamiya is the backdrop to Ramadan that truly makes the month festive and familiar. My father is as much of a sucker for Ramadan decor as I am, so I really took the ball and ran with it when he asked me to take on the task. Banners are fun and easy to make, so I thought I’d share this DIY with you all!
To make the Ramadan banner, either select one of the template tiles from below (I used the Egyptian Red Khayamiya one, if you’d like similar results) or search for an image on google images. Make sure the dimensions are larger than 500×500 to avoid grainy, pixilated banners.
- Egyptian Red Khayamiya (I used this as a template for my project)
- Moroccan Rub el Hizb
- Turkish Tulip Iznik Tile
- Turkish Iznik Tile ii
- Blue Isfahan Tile
- Another more expensive option is to go to Michael’s or Papyrus, etc and purchase scrapbook papers to cut out. They do have high quality papers, but google images print-outs will suffice for me 🙂
Instructions
- Save your picture and open it using Microsoft Word.
- Set the document layout to landscape and make sure the margins are narrow.
- Edit your image so that it is in front of or behind text, so you are able to extend the size of the image to the margins.
- Print out at least ten sheets of paper (I did 11)
- If you position the banner so that the backside is visible, print double-sided so that the background is not just white.
- You can use the following pennant templates or if the pattern you chose has a defined pattern (as mine did) cut along the pattern!
Best of luck and Ramadan Mubarak!
Book of Dishes 
