A Guide to Egyptian Handicrafts: Khayamia, Etamine Embroidery & Hand-Painting

Every Buttonup piece starts with a craft. Since 2019 we have worked with artisans in 10 governorates across Egypt, bringing 12 traditional crafts into everyday products you can carry, wear and gift. Here is a short guide to the techniques you will find in our collections.

Khayamia (tentmaker appliqué)

Khayamia is the colourful appliqué work traditionally used to decorate tents in Egypt. Pieces of fabric are cut into shapes and hand-stitched onto a base cloth to build bold geometric and floral patterns. At Buttonup, khayamia appears on clutches, vests and tote bags, such as our Nilofer clutch, inspired by the lotus flower.

Etamine embroidery

Etamine is a counted cross-stitch embroidery worked on an even-weave fabric, giving the clean, pixel-like motifs you see on many of our pieces. It is slow, precise work: every stitch is counted by hand. You will find it on clutches and pouches, laptop sleeves, bottle holders and leather wallets.

Hand-painting

Our hand-painted collection turns cotton bags into small canvases. Artisans paint each design by hand, drawing on Egyptian, Nubian, African and Islamic art, so no two pieces are exactly the same. Explore our hand-painted handbags and backpacks.

Macramé

Macramé is the art of knotting cord into patterns. We combine it with printing and embroidery on tote bags and vests, and use it for home pieces such as coasters and decorative branches.

Leatherwork

Our genuine leather wallets, card holders, journals and laptop bags are cut, stitched and finished by hand, often with an embroidered or stamped motif inspired by historic Islamic architecture. Browse wallets and organizers and notebooks.

Why it matters

Each technique is also a source of income. Behind our products are women and youth who trained with Buttonup and now produce from their own communities. Choosing a handmade piece keeps these crafts alive and supports fair work.

Shop the full collection or visit our showroom at 42 Bahgat Ali, Zamalek (daily 12–8 PM, closed Fridays) to see the crafts up close.