DASHIKI FABRICS
COTTON : Cotton is a soft, fluffy, staple fiber that grows in a form known as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa. The fiber most often is spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile, which is the most widely used natural-fiber cloth in clothing today. The English name derives from the Arabic "qutn", which began to be used circa 1400.
KENTE PRINTS : Connect with the culture and style of Africa Nothing captures the vibrant African vibe quite like kente cloth. The history of this cloth goes back to the 12th century, when these colorful fabrics were worn by African royalty. The name kente comes from the word "kenten" (basket), because of the cloth's resemblance to a basket-woven design. Each kente pattern is distinct and has its own special meaning. Many people around the globe are proudly wearing kente cloth today to show their unique sense of fashion and their connection to the motherland. In addition to clothing, kente cloth prints can be used to create crafts, decorations, throw rugs, table cloths, etc. Fabric produced in India. 100% cotton. - Fabric produced in India
KUBA CLOTH : Kuba cloth is just starting to become popular in the United States. Using the leaf of the rafia tree, the Kuba people of the Congo first hand cut, and then weave the strips of leaf to make pieces of fabric, often called rafia cloth. There are several different sub groups of the Kuba people. Each group has different and unique ways to make the fabric. Some make it thicker, longer, shorter, or with different patches. Each patch is symbolic and many times a piece has many different meanings. When kuba cloth originated there were probably no patches used, but as the cloth is brittle it is quite likely that the patches were used to repair the frequent tears. Later, each patch developed a meaning, many patterns are uniquly arranged to tell a story. The process of making kuba cloth is extreemly time comsuming and may take several days to form a simple placemat size piece. The men first gather the leaves of the rafia tree and then dye it using mud, indigo or substances from the camwood tree. They then rub the rafia fibers in their hands to soften it and make it easier for weaving. After they've completed the base cloth the woman embroider it. They do this by pulling a few threads of the rafia fibers, inserting them into a needle running the needle through the cloth until the fibers show up on the opposite end. They then take a knife and cut off the top of the fibers, leaving only a little bit showing. Doing this hundreds of times forms a design. The designs are seldom planned out ahead of time, and most of the embroidery is done by memory. The kuba people, who developed this and many other fabrics were very resistant to using European cloth; and for many years seldom used machine made fabrics. When researching this and other cloths that the kuba people developed, it is not hard to understand why they resisted the change so much. Each fabric, each pattern, and each design in traditional kuba fabrics has great meaning. On the basis of what a person wore; you could interpert much about them. Social status age, marital status, and a person's character were just a few of the things a piece of cloth symbolized to these people. Own a piece of this fabric today; not only will you be sharing in the culture of these ingenious people, but you will experience the true art of the kuba people as well. Made in Congo.
MUD CLOTH : Bògòlanfini (sometimes bogolan) is a traditional Malian fabric dyed with fermented mud, particularly associated with the Bambara. The name is a Bambara word meaning "earthcloth." In the creation of bògòlanfini, simple cotton cloth is woven, shrunk, and then soaked in a preparation of leaves from certain trees. An artist then outlines an intricate design with a mud dye, often taking several weeks to cover the entire cloth. Yellowish areas of mud are then treated with a caustic soda, bleaching them back to white for a stark black and white design. Traditionally, a man will do the weaving while a woman will do the dyeing. In recent years, fashion designers such as Chris Seydou have employed bògòlanfini in international clothing lines, while Malian painter Ishmael Diabate has developed it as a fine art form
ASO OKE FABRIC : Aso oke fabric, (pronounced ah-SHOW-kay) is a hand loomed cloth woven by the Yoruba people of south west Nigeria. Aso oke means top cloth in the English language. Usually woven by men, the fabric is used to make men's gowns, called Agbada, women's wrappers, called iro, and men's hats, called fila
POLYESTER : Fabrics woven from polyester thread or yarn are used extensively in apparel and home furnishings, from shirts and pants to jackets and hats, bed sheets, blankets and upholstered furniture. Industrial polyester fibers, yarns and ropes are used in tyre reinforcements, fabrics for conveyor belts, safety belts, coated fabrics and plastic reinforcements with high-energy absorption. Polyester fiber is used as cushioning and insulating material in pillows, comforters and upholstery padding. While synthetic clothing in general is perceived by some as having a less-natural feel compared to fabrics woven from natural fibers (such as cotton and wool), polyester fabrics can provide specific advantages over natural fabrics, such as improved wrinkle resistance. As a result, polyester fibers are sometimes spun together with natural fibers to produce a cloth with blended properties. Synthetic fibers also can create materials with superior water, wind and environmental resistance compared to plant-derived fibers.
