Part of my dowry and Greek heritage is an elaborate pillowcase that my paternal grandmother embroidered by machine. It is a white cotton pillowcase accented with cutwork embroidery in satin, buttonhole, and stem stitches. The design features stems, leaves, flowers, tiny eyelets, buttonhole bars, and a decorative azour (from French ajour meaning cutwork) border. This whitework embroidery is called kofto (Greek: κοφτό), which means “cut.” It was a very popular technique in the ’70s and ’80s in Greece.

Read more about the history of kofto and how it was made in Piecework magazine online.