Although Algeria had a centuries-long tradition of embroidery, it, like many other regions of the Ottoman empire, adopted patterns from Istanbul during the Ottoman occupation. But Algerian embroideries remained distinct from other Mediterranean types in color and stitch, and the province continued to produce mainly headdresses and headbands for which it was known throughout the empire. The earliest known pieces were embroidered in a brick or satin stitch on a light, loosely woven, undyed linen. Cotton came to be used occasionally in the nineteenth century.