Felt making is a traditional form of textile craftsmanship in Uzbekistan, practiced for centuries by nomadic and rural communities. It involves processing wool from sheep, cleaning, carding, and then manually felting it through rolling, pressing, and wetting techniques to produce dense, warm, and durable fabric used for carpets, clothing, yurts, and ceremonial items. This ancient craft combines utilitarian knowledge with cultural aesthetics, as felt products are often decorated with colorful, symbolic patterns representing protection, nature, or family values. The creation of felt is typically a communal activity, especially among women, where skills, stories, and songs are shared in the process. Felt making is not only an economic activity but also a symbol of identity, reflecting the pastoral heritage and sustainable lifestyle of many Uzbek regions.

Songket is a traditional Malaysian handwoven fabric. It is woven on two-pedal floor looms by the Malay women In Malay Peninsula (West Malaysia) and in Sarawak (East Malaysia). The term Songket is derived from the technique employed to make it: inserting gold or silver thread in between the weft and warp threads. Songket is woven using the Malay weaving loom called 'kek'. Songket is woven as the supplementary weft method, a decorative weaving technique in which extra threads "float" across a colourful woven ground to create ornamental effect. The delicate piece of Songket is the result of many months of skilled handloom weaving by expert craftsmen who learn the art from their ancestors. The identity is traced by its design patterns that use geometry and elements of nature such as flowers, birds and insects. The motifs of tampuk manggis (mangosteen calyx), tampuk kesemak (persimmon), bunga pecah lapan (eight-petal flower), bunga bintang (star-patterned flower), pucuk rebung (bamboo shoots) and awan larat (trailing clouds) are among the most frequently used. These traditional patterns continue to be used, especially in aspects of separation and placing the various parts of the cloth such as the centerfield, main panel and end borders. Unlike the old days, Songket is only worn by royalty and their families. But todays, it is mostly worn as traditional Malay ceremonial costumes during royal installations, wedding, birth, Malay festive occasions and formal state functions.

Malaysia 2021

Today, piled weaving is vividly demonstrated in the patterned piled carpets that are distinguished by their quality and durability. Sheep, caprine or camel hair is used for base of the carpets. Piled carpets are original and colorful as are other items of the applied and decorative arts of the Kyrgyz. Kyrgyz piled carpets, are weaved on a simple horizontal machine – ‘dyukoun’. Instruments of masters also include wooden comb – ‘tokmok’, which is used to nail picks and piles, a knife – to cut piled threads, and scissors – to trim the piles. Geometrical shapes are prevailing in the Kyrgyz piled carpets. These are: squares with jogged edges or elongated endings – ‘omurtka’, triangles – ‘tumarcha’, cross shaped figures – ‘chaidosh’, simple or stepped rhombs – ‘it taman’, star shaped forms – ‘jyldyz’ as well as various octangulars and etc. Plant and horn shaped motifs are also present in the ornaments such as ‘toguz doubou’ (nine hills), ‘alma kouchout’ (apple pattern) and etc.

Rangoli, which means “an array of colours” in Sanskrit, is a traditional Indian art form dating back some 5,000 years to the pre-Aryan period. It is known as kolam in Tamil. The art of rangoli originated in India, where these decorative patterns have been drawn outside Indian homes and in temples for hundreds of years. The practice was brought to Singapore by Indian migrants who settled here. A rangoli pattern is made of unbroken lines. This is thought to prevent evil spirits from penetrating through the gaps. The designs range from geometric shapes of peacock motifs to floral designs to faces of Hindu gods. Popular ones include circular designs, which signify the endlessness of time, and the lotus flower design with Goddess Lakshmi in the middle, which represents prosperity and fertility in Hinduism. Some people also place diyas (oil lamps) inside the rangoli and light them for a puja (prayer). The patterns are passed down from one generation to the next, with women taught to make these designs outside the home or near the altar (prayer room) area.

Ornaments are a very important part of the Mongolian decorative arts. They represent traditional artistic expressions that depict the origin, essence, and meaning of various things and phenomena of our life and the universe. Mongolians describe ornamental figures in three different ways: animal-ornamental patterns with geometric motifs are called khee (pattern), ornamental patterns with round curved grooves are called ugalz (scrolls), and ornamental patterns with dualistic features are called arga bilig (spiral patterns). For their purpose and placement, the ornamental patterns are classified as central ornaments, corner ornaments, angle ornaments, and fringe ornaments. Mongolian ornaments may be classified plant ornament, animal ornament, natural phenomena ornament, geometric ornament and banner ornament.

According to documents from the Department of Culture and Tourism, the Yao people in Bac Kan province have the second largest population, accounting for nearly 18% of the total population of the province; divided into 2 dialect-using groups, "Kềm miền" and "Kềm mùn", including 3 groups, 4 branches and 8 branches. Each group has its own cultural identity, especially in terms of costumes. With their sophistication in the way they dress, Red Yao women create their own unique features in the way they decorate their costumes. The costumes of Red Yao women in Bac Kan include two types: regular clothes and formal clothes. The daily casual clothes have two main colors, blue and black, including a headscarf, shirt, bib, belt and are usually not embroidered with patterns. The formal clothes worn on wedding days or festivals are cut, sewn, embroidered more elaborately and meticulously, with a split chest, embroidered shirt placket, and fastened with silver buttons. The two chests of the shirt are decorated with many red woolen flowers in a V shape. The back collar is decorated with many colored beads. The two trouser legs are embroidered with patterns from the knee down. The belt is made of two pieces of cloth about two spans long, embroidered with patterns and beautifully decorated at both ends. The main color of the Red Yao ethnic group's ceremonial costume is red, because they believe that red brings happiness and luck. The Red Yao ethnic group's costume is one of the most richly and diversely decorated with patterns among the ethnic groups in Vietnam, expressed through the art of decorative patterns on the costume. The decoration on the ao dai and both sides of the flaps is attached with beaded strings with red and yellow tassels at the ends. The sleeves have a strip of embroidered patterns or made of green fabric. The belt is made of indigo fabric, embroidered with many patterns of plants, tiger paw prints, surrounded by green cat paw prints, flowers, stars, pine trees, and children. The trouser legs are mainly decorated with horizontal bands of patterns from the hem up to the trouser legs. The embroidered skirt is a red strip of fabric, in the middle there are two rows of white sawtooth patterned fabric, below is a row of red, blue, yellow tassels. The bib is embroidered and decorated with bright red, yellow, blue thread, and silver. Around the neck of the bib, along the front of the bib are decorated with silver flowers, rectangular silver pieces, one after another, handcrafted. Using manual techniques: embroidery, fabric patching, silver attachment, processing color and shape layouts..., the Red Yao people create different motifs to decorate their costumes. The types of decorative patterns are diverse: images of trees and grass, tiger footprints, cat footprints, stars, images of children, sawtooth patterned fabric, tassels... The art of decorating patterns on costumes contains many aesthetic, religious and spiritual values, demonstrating the ingenuity, sophistication, and creativity of the Red Yao women in Ngoc Phai (Cho Don-Bac Kan). With the efforts to preserve the national cultural identity of the Red Yao people, Ngoc Phai commune, Cho Don district, the Art of making costume decorative patterns of the Red Yao was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2018.

Embroidery is a type of needlework. Beauty of Uzbek embroidery, ancient origins of its patterns and diversity of techniques applied indicate to the fact that this craft has passed a lengthy process of historical development, and has rich traditions. Large-sized decorative embroidery can be divided into several types: suzani (wall-mounted panels; literally - "needle"), nimsuzani (literally - "half of suzani"), ruyidjo, joypush yakkandoz and choyshab (bedspreads and bedsheets), takyanpush (pillow coverlet), oy-palak and gulkorpa (Tashkent versions of suzani), sandalipush (coverlet for sandal), zardevor, dorpech or kirpech (embroidery used for decorating upper parts of walls), joynamoz (prayer rug), bugdjoma (coverlet for blanket), beshikpush (coverlet for cradle), etc. Embroidered items of small size are represented by oyna-khalta and shona-khalta (sacks for keeping mirror and comb), qiyiqcha, miyonband, chorsu and belbogh (versions of men's waist kerchiefs), doppi (skullcap), sarpokkun, qoziqlungi and tanpokkun (long towels with embroidered ends), bugjoma (linen used for wrapping dress), sarandoz and romoli-peshonaband (types of head shawls and headdresses for women), dast romol (handkerchiefs), jiyak (embroidered edges used for decorating certain elements of a dress), etc. Ornamental pattern and composition of embroidery depended on its practical purpose (i.e. for what purposes it was used). Main embroidery motifs are symbols of cosmogonic origin (i.e. sun, moon, stars in the form of large and small rosettes), vegetative and geometric patterns, stylized images of animals and birds. For embroidery of Uzbekistan peculiar is application of distinct technique of sewing, i.e. complete sewing of large surfaces of the pattern, and leaving (relatively) small area for the background. Also, different types of one-sided satin-stitch and chain-stitch are used, which fill motifs of an ornament completely. Satin-stich can be of two types, i.e. "bosma" and "kanda-hayol". There are different types, patterns and traditions of embroidery, depending on their belonging to their respective regions: Bukhara, Fergana, Shakhrisabz, Nurata, Tashkent, Fergana, etc.

Naqqoshlik is drawing an ornament - a pattern built on rhythmic alternation and a combination of geometric or graphic elements, performed by means of painting, drawing, sculpture or embroidery. Uzbek national patterns have their own names, going back in history. Traditional Uzbek ornament is found in decorative art embroideries, in wood carvings, in paintings on clay and ceramics, on Uzbek fabrics, on buildings. At the heart of the ornament is a picture of simple things. For example, knives are designed to protect, a flowering garden is a symbol of fertility and agriculture. Each flower carries information: a scarlet poppy - the image of an innocent girl, a tulip - a symbol of purity, a rose - peace and beauty, wildflowers - a young man. Often, a different meaning was embedded in the image of flowers. For example, they believed that they carried healing power and health. The ornament creates a vector image in which a magical meaning is laid, reflecting the course of human life. This is an oriental vector style with geometric patterns. Geometric patterns have abstract forms: - zigzag lines - circles - polyhedra - stars - ornamental motifs - meander - human figures - stylized inscriptions. Ethnic patterns are folklore images, folk motifs in which a creative union of religion and culture is concluded. They carry a semantic and ritual load.

Naqqashlik, or the traditional art of ornament-making, is a highly refined form of decorative craftsmanship in Uzbekistan, rooted in centuries of Islamic and Central Asian artistic traditions. This craft involves the creation of intricate patterns and motifs that adorn architecture, furniture, wooden columns, doors, ceilings, and ceremonial objects. Naqqashlik is not only a visual art but also a spiritual and philosophical expression. It features floral, geometric, and calligraphic motifs, all governed by strict aesthetic principles and symbolic meanings. The craft plays an essential role in architectural preservation, cultural identity, and national aesthetics. Master artisans, known as naqqosh, follow meticulous processes including drawing, carving, painting, and gold leafing. Designs are traditionally developed using natural pigments and hand tools, with every pattern reflecting a balance between beauty and harmony.

Parzo is the art of carving on wood, stone and slate. This art is evident throughout the country displayed magnificently on wooden structures of fortresses, palaces, stupas, temples, traditional houses and even on furniture. The following section describes some forms of carving. a. Woodcarving: Wood has been one of the most widely used resources in the country. Some of the masks worn by dancers during the festivals, the altars in the shrine room of any house, containers like bowls and cups, sheaths and handles of knives and swords, xylographic blocks are all carved out of wood. b. Choesham, Decorative Items and Furniture: Every house has a choesham (altar) entirely made of wood. Generally the altars will have carvings like choetsi and other designs such as dragons, flowers, eight lucky signs and mythological animals, on the main structure in accordance with the desires of the owner. On the upper part of the structure called gu-chag the altar will have the designs called pema, norbu, bagam, boh and ngangpa. Cabinets, chogdroms, divans, decorative floral items, religious motifs like dragons, tashi tagye and various legendary animals are carved out of wood. The three sides of chogdrom (traditional portable table) are carved with dragons, flowers or other legendary animals. Dramnyen, the traditional Bhutanese guitar is carved from wood in an intricate dragon design. The fingerboard is usually decorated with colourful traditional symbols. The hollowed sound box is covered with goatskin, and attached with either silk or nylon strings. c. Masks: The Bhutanese make various shapes and sizes of masks from semi-hardwood, usually blue pine to depict the face of gods, animals and mythological figures. These carved wooden masks are used in the sacred and religious dances. Carved wooden masks are also popular as decorations in houses, dzongs, temples and monasteries. d. Xylography: Before the invention of wood carving tradition in Bhutan, all religious texts and official documents were primarily written by hand. With the introduction of woodblock carving and printing technique by Terton Pema Lingpa (1450-1521), religious texts and images have been carved on woodblocks, thereby reproducing numerous copies, by printing on paper and textiles. Each and every temple and monastery in Bhutan hold a copy of the Buddhist cannons (the teachings) and commentaries on the teachings. Many of the texts from the cannon have been carved on wood, and reproduced by printing on paper. Woodblock carving is usually carried out on dried birch wood. To make a wooden block for carving, the woodblock is adequately oiled to make it soft and smooth for carving. The wooden block surface is then planed smooth on which the written text is glued. Once the paper has dried, it is removed from the block leaving the image of the scripts on the woodblock. The mirror image of the texts that need to be printed is left on the surface while those parts not required are removed with gouges or chisels. The texts are then carved with the help of chisels. Images and other patras (intricate designs) are carved only on to one side of the wooden block, whereas religious texts are carved on both sides of the woodblock. The carved woodblock is then coated with ink, and a sheet of paper is placed over the inked blocks. The paper is then rubbed and pressed with a roller to get the text printed. It is then left to dry either in shed or sun. Four different kinds of tools are used for xylography such as zhogthig, yatag, segchung. Round letters are carved using the tip of the mindrug with its sharp crescent shape tip. The tip of the yatag with its more relaxed crescent shape is used to carve the sub-bending yatag script. Similar to the typical Bhutanese knife; the tip of segchung is slightly slanted and carves the rest of the letters of the scripts. Zhogthig, with its wider and large tip is used to carve the lines in the space on the edge of the text that maintain the outer margin. e. Stone Carving: In Bhutan, carving on stones is not as diverse or common as wood carving but it existed in Bhutan. One comes across huge water driven grinding stone mills, hollowed-out stones used for pounding and husking grains, troughs for feeding animals, images of deities, gods and religious figures carved onto large rocks. In Bhutan, stones were also carved to make stone pots and utensils, but today these have become rare because of modern alternatives. f. Slate Carving: Slate carving is another form of art that is being practiced in Bhutan. Slate, called as do nag, is found in abundance in Bhutan, and the artisan is known as donag lopen. Portraits depicting deities and religious figures, inscriptions of mantras and religious scripts are carved onto slates, and adorned onto the exterior walls of temples, monasteries, dzongs and choetens. Apart from carving on wood, stone and slate, the Bhutanese people also carve images of gods and deities on rhino horns and ivory.

Sekafi is a short-necked plucked lute similar to the sape of the orang ulu community. It is a strummed lute with three brass or wire strings. Like the tafe, its body is made from the soft wood of the jackfruit tree trunk. The surface of the instrument is painted with special designs, which reflect Lundayeh art. Some inter-influence between the sape of the orang ulu community in Sarawak and the sekafi could have occurred as they share similarities in terms of shape and their strummed lute. Their differences, however, are in the design, tune and decorative motifs on their body: these aspects portray the individual creativity of the musical instrument makers. Sekafi is usually performed solo for personal entertainment or as dance accompaniment. Not many Lundayeh in Tenom could play the sekafi today. This non-ability is a similar situation among the Lundayeh communities in Sipitang and Long Pasia.