One popular way of finishing garments that will be worn on special occasions is to embroider them, by hand or machine. People prefer that the embroidery be done in colors that contrast with the fabric, in order to highlight the decorative work.

Skilled artisans from the cities of Timbuktu and Djenné are renowned throughout Mali for their hand embroidery using silk or cotton thread. The complexity of the floral and geometric design, the quality of the workmanship, and the density of the embroidery determine the price. An especially complicated pattern is very expensive and can take from several weeks to several months to complete. Today machine embroidery is more common.

Tailoring and embroidering are important economic activities, and workshops can be found in markets and neighborhoods in every town. Before any major festival, demand is high, and the whir of the machines can be heard late into the night. To advertise their designs, artisans often display finished garments on the walls of their shops. They also count on word of mouth from satisfied customers to bring in new clients. Some machine-embroidered boubous carry the names of Malian popular music stars or of cities, like Grand Dakar, London, and Washington.