Black Sea Keşan Fabric

Karadeniz Keşan Fabric is a traditional cotton fabric woven in Türkiye’s Black Sea Region, particularly in Trabzon and its surrounding areas. The weaving technique employed is the bezayağı weave, and production is carried out on shuttle looms. It is a traditional textile produced historically in the Eastern Black Sea region, especially in Trabzon, Rize, Artvin, and nearby areas. Keşan fabric forms part of the traditional folk attire of the region.

The origins of Karadeniz Keşan fabric are rooted in the region’s hand-weaving traditions. Local textile craftsmanship, practiced for centuries on village looms, continued particularly through the 19th and 20th centuries when Black Sea women wove Keşan fabric to make their own clothing. Although industrialization led to a decline in traditional weaving, Keşan production persisted in rural areas.

Karadeniz Keşan fabric is a handwoven textile type traditionally produced in Türkiye’s Eastern Black Sea region, especially in Trabzon, Rize, Artvin and surrounding areas, characterized by distinctive patterns and color structures. Keşan has been used in both men’s and women’s traditional rural garments in this region. Unlike Keşan fabric produced in Thrace, Karadeniz Keşan is typically finer, with dense linear patterns, bright colors, and sometimes adorned with gold-colored decorative elements. The patterns are created using the ikat dyeing technique, in which warp threads are tied and dyed before weaving. This method produces patterned designs through selective dyeing of specific thread sections. The dominant colors in Keşan fabric are black, maroon, and yellow, with linear patterns predominating in the design.

Historically, Trabzon Keşan fabric held an important place in the social life of the Eastern Black Sea region. It was used as peştamal, headscarves, and various textile items. Although products were generally woven from cotton threads, historical records indicate that linen and silk threads were also used. Karadeniz Keşan fabric is one of the regional manifestations of the ikat technique in Anatolia, which is also found in other traditional textiles such as the Kutnu fabric woven in Gaziantep. Geographic, sociological, and cultural differences across various regions of Anatolia have played a decisive role in shaping the pattern and color structure of Keşan fabric.

Trabzon Keşan fabric served both a functional and cultural role, featuring in the trousseaus of young brides and acting as a vehicle for transmitting traditional heritage. Today, its production has declined, and various contemporary applications and experimental designs have been developed to ensure its sustainability.

Keşan fabric is primarily woven from cotton threads. Historical records indicate that linen and silk threads were also used in earlier periods. During weaving, the bezayağı weave structure is preferred, and patterns are created using the ikat technique on the warp threads. In ikat, the warp threads are tightly bound in specific sections before dyeing; this results in patterned designs after dyeing and weaving. The fundamental pattern characteristic of the fabric is linear. The primary colors used are black, maroon, and yellow tones, although various color variations have been observed over time.

Warp Preparation: Warp threads are wound onto a warp frame. Sections intended for ikat dyeing are separated by tying.

Dyeing: Dye is applied to the tied threads. Color transitions and patterns vary depending on the tying techniques used.

Transfer to Loom: After dyeing, the warp threads are mounted onto the weaving loom.

Weaving: The fabric is woven on a shuttle loom using the bezayağı weave technique.

Finishing: After weaving is complete, the fabric is shaped according to its intended use.

Decorations: In traditional garments, Keşan fabric is embellished with beads, gold-colored sequins, and thread embroidery along the edges.

Thread Types: In traditional production, cotton threads predominate. Historical documents confirm the use of linen and silk threads in earlier periods.

Dyes: Traditional dyeing employed natural plant-based and mineral dyes. In recent times, synthetic dyes have also been adopted.

Loom Characteristics: Armur or plain shuttle looms are used, and in some weavings, simple armur mechanisms enhance pattern richness.

Historically, Keşan fabric was used to make traditional garments such as şalvar for men and skirts and headscarves for women. It was also used in household textiles such as tablecloths, curtains, and storage bags. Today, designers incorporate it into modern clothing, bags, and decorative items.

Headscarf: Used by women for daily wear and on special occasions.

Belt: Worn by men wrapped around şalvar.

Şalvar and Entari Production: Keşan fabric is preferred for making traditional women’s garments, especially şalvar and entari.

Folk Dance Costumes: Keşan fabric is an essential element in the folk dances of Trabzon, Rize, and Artvin regions.

Henna and Wedding Ceremonies: Keşan fabric is used especially in bridal headwraps, with decorative edges.

The traditional production process of Karadeniz Keşan fabric begins with sourcing and dyeing cotton threads. Colored threads are then arranged on the warp frame, and weft threads are manually inserted to weave the fabric. After weaving is completed, the fabric is cut and, if desired, embellished with beads or sequins along the edges. In the final stage, the product is dried and prepared for use.

Karadeniz Keşan is not merely a textile material but also an integral part of the region’s social life, used in Black Sea highland festivals, weddings, and traditional dances such as horon. Karadeniz Keşan is a key component of the region’s traditional clothing culture.

To date, no independent geographical indication has been registered for Karadeniz Keşan fabric. However, local cultural associations and certain municipalities are undertaking efforts to preserve and register its unique structure.

In Türkiye, the product registered under the name “Keşan fabric” was granted geographical indication status in 2020 by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office as specific to the Keşan district of Edirne; this fabric features a red background with large linear patterns and belongs to the Thrace region. In contrast, the fabric traditionally used in the Black Sea region (Trabzon, Rize, Artvin and surrounding areas) and also called “Keşan” has a different texture and pattern structure. Despite its cultural significance, it currently lacks official geographical indication status.

The video visually presents how the Keşan weaving tradition is sustained and passed on to future generations through the work of Ayşe Saka, a master weaver in Trabzon. This recording serves as a valuable resource documenting contemporary practitioners and production methods of regional hand-weaving arts, highlighting the continuity of local cultural elements such as Keşan fabric.