African Print Fabrics - Beautiful and Unique Designs

For hundreds of years the traditional dress of people in Africa has been garments made of brightly coloured and exquisitely designed cotton print fabric.

100% cotton

Cotton is a fantastic fabric. Durable; literally lasts for years even with daily use. Absorbent; soaking up natural and man-made dyes so completely, producing colours that are vibrant and long lasting.Cotton is so suited to a tropical climate It has the ability to be cool in hot weather and warm in cooler weather. This is way the best quality African prints are made solely of cotton.

Traditional Print methods

Ancient textile makers used natural dyes made from the extraordinary mineral peats and soils dug from deep within the ground. Huge vats of deep pepper reds, brilliant indigo and amazingly vibrant saffron are the

receptacles for swathes of white cotton. Using stones or shells tied into the cloth. The result is the most magnificent tie-dye textiles in the world. A techniques so good that it is still used today. look at more info Ankara skir

Hand carved wooden blocks of intricate designs that reflect the natural environment; fish, birds, trees,flowers are used to hand print onto the cotton. What makes African textiles, so African are the amazing combinations of colours that go into making a single textile print. Often a successful print design is printed in three or even four very different colour combinations;

-black, white and hot pink

-blue, yellow and orange

-black, grey and red/brown

to name just a few. To the western tastes these colour combinations do not sound at all promising.Yet when the creativity of African designer realises a new design their colour combinations work far better than anyone could ever have imagined.

A legacy

Even in this day and age a mother will build up a large trunk box of prints that she will use for herself and many she will pass onto her daughters when they marry or when she dies.A new bride will receive a box full of heavy velvets and brocades, and cotton prints as part of her dowry. Her new husband is expected to demonstrate his ability to clothe his bride well and to do so lavishly, before being allowed to complete the marriage negotiations.

In times of great financial need a widow might be forced to dip into her trunk and sell her unused, uncut prints to raise cash.

Modern methods

In the modern age and with the use of computers to design and print very complex images onto the cotton, African print designs have gone from strength to strength. During times of celebration or mourning of a local or national dignitary a commemorative print is often produced for the occasion.

A design complete with images of famous faces, names and dates printed in three or four different colour versions can be produced and printed off in as little as two weeks, ready be worn with pride by almost everyone who attends the event, and long after. Such is importance given to cotton print fabrics within African culture.