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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS and GLOSSARY of TERMS
GENERAL QUESTIONS
What makes this cloth African?
Our African Fabrics are factory or hand made textiles produced
in Africa, textiles produced outside Africa specifically for
distribution and sale in Africa, and other non-African cloth
(such as cotton Bazin, also known as Damask) produced outside
Africa and sold as is or re-manufactured through decoration in
Africa.
Examples of textiles produced in Africa include the locally
manufactured broadloom African prints as well as fabric made
from locally grown cotton that is handspun, hand-woven and hand-decorated,
such as Bogolon (mud-cloth) or modern tribal cloth hand-woven
from manufactured thread by such tribal groups as Fulani and
Manjaka.
Examples of the cloth produced in Europe especially for distribution
and sale in Africa include Dutch or English "wax",
as well as factory-made fabric produced in India, China and Indonesia
and other locations, designed to appeal to the African or "Generic
Ethnic" aesthetic.
Among the "other" cloth found in Africa is Bazin,
also know as damask, jacquard, or brocade (cloth with a design
woven into the fabric), some of which may be produced in African
factories, but which is usually exported to Africa by Switzerland,
Austria, and China. Bazin is considered to be a prestige cloth.
Most of the hand-decorated cloth is Bazin.
Where do you get your cloth from? Where do your African
Fabrics come from??
I travel to Africa most winters to re-supply my inventory.
My base of operation is the Gambia, where I first visited in
1995 and where I maintain a small apartment in a family compound.
I shop in urban and rural town markets, cloth-decorating yards,
and attend big weekly regional markets in the bush. When time
and money allow, I travel to other countries. I occasionally
buy African textiles from African dealers here in the US but
prefer the broader selection available in Africa.
Although I purchase primarily in Gambia, the fabrics themselves
come from Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast,
Nigeria and occasionally elsewhere.
TEXTILE QUESTIONS
Why is this cloth so stiff?
Some of the cloth is starched during the manufacturing process.
However stiff it appears at the start, it does soften with washing,
though some pieces will need to be washed a couple of times to
become supple. Heavily starched cloth will be easier to work
with and will not require excessive dampening and pressing when
it is hung to dry instead of tumbled dry.
Will the dyes run?
With the exception of natural Indigo dye (see below), most
of the dyes used in Africa are the same as the dyes used in Europe,
and are colorfast. This is true for the factory made and hand
dyed cloth. Occasionally, however, the hand dyer fails to adequately
rinse the excess dye from the cloth or fails to adequately fix
it to the fibers, or the factory buys cheap black or red dyes
and the color runs. I therefore recommend that you always wash
your African cloth prior to using it in a sewing, quilting or
home decorating project. It is usually pretty dusty from being
exposed in the market, and may or may not have been pre-shrunk
in the decorating process.
What about Indigo dye?
Traditional organic Indigo dye, which used to be the norm
in African Indigo cloth, will always run for the first 6-8 washings--most
heavily at first, and then less and less as the excess is washed
out. Thus, it is not colorfast until all the excess dye has washed
out. Some people swear by washing the cloth with salt or vinegar
to help to set the due. Some people like to add special products
such as Synthropol or Retayne to the wash cycle. These products
keep the dye in suspension in the water so that it does not re-attach
to the fibers before the water runs out. With no additional products,
my experience is that usually half a dozen rinses in the washer
does a pretty good job of washing out the extra dye. Check the
water, if it's still blue, the extra dye is still coming out.
One customer has suggested that you dampen a corner of the cloth
and iron it between two paper towers. If the paper towel has
blue on it, you need to wash the cloth again.
Until you no longer see blue on the paper towel or in the
water, we strongly recommend that you exercise caution in wearing
an indigo dyed garment with other light colored clothing or when
you are sitting on your white leather couch, or mixing the cloth
into other projects, particularly with light colored cloth. The
color of the dye retains its vivid color, and is not diminished
by washing unless you are also repeatedly subjecting the cloth
to the bleaching effects of the sun, in which case the color
will fade agreeably over time always yielding a pleasing color.
Due to the labor intensive nature of making indigo dye-baths
from natural materials, and the fact that natural dyed cloth
cannot be sold in Africa for more money than cloth dyed with
industrial materials, much contemporary indigo dyed cloth is
colored with a mixture of colorfast manufactured dye and the
traditional dye. Thus the benefits of both means of dyeing can
be achieved in a manner that serves the economical needs of the
artisans.
What is Bazin?
When you look closely at the cloth called Bazin in West Africa
you will see that there are designs-they vary from piece to piece-woven
into the cloth. Also widely knows as Damask, Jacquard, or Brocade,
this is very popular in West Africa & is considered a prestige
cloth. The Bazin we carry comes from a variety of sources though
there are distinguishing characteristics among them. The softer
and more lustrous cloth usually comes from Switzerland or Austria.
We buy 100% cotton, although viscose cotton is also available.
The Bazin with a lower thread count and more starch comes from
African or Chinese factories. The starched pieces, however stiff
they seem at the start, soften up nicely with washing. Bazin
from any source can be used interchangeably with other cloth
in sewing and quilting projects, and is 100% cotton with colorfast
dyes whether factory dyed or dyed by hand. Except for Indigo
(see above). Most hand decorated designs from West Africa are
dyed into Bazin.
How should I treat the hand-decorated Bazin?
Our hand decorated textiles come from Gambia, Mali, Guinea
and Ghana. The base cloth is usually Bazin, with its diverse
countries of origin, which is 100% cotton and the dyes are colorfast
with the exception of Indigo. You may wash and dry the cloth
in your washing machine and dryer.
We recommend that you wash it prior to use as the cloth is
usually dirty and perhaps not pre-shrunk during the dye process.
Also, if there was not enough rinsing after dyeing, the extra
dye will wash out here. Subsequently there should be no further
leaching of the color. Users may prefer to add Retayne or Synthropol
to this first wash. These products keep any dye that washes out
in suspension so that it cannot reattach to the cloth. Synthropol
and Retayne are usually available at dye supply houses (Dharma
Trading Company) on line, at quilting stores or in the crafts
section of a department store. Otherwise, treat the cloth as
you would any other, and sew with it freely. It is untreated,
and thus will require some ironing to remain wrinkle free.
What is "WAX"?
Wax is the common name given to a high quality 100% cotton
fabric that has a dense thread count and a nice "hand"
or feel to it. The name "Wax" refers to the process,
developed to imitate Indonesian true hand batik to suit factory
production in England and Holland. Wax is currently also made
in African factories as well as in many place around the world.
The process actually employs a wax resist and true dyeing process
(as opposed to the printing process of African common cloth where
the ink is transferred by a roller onto the cloth instead of
being dyed INTO the fiber). Usually the legend at the edge says
something about being "guaranteed wax". The higher
quality of the cloth and the greater durability of the color
is recognized in Africa and reflected in its slightly higher
price there and here.
What is Kente Design Print Cloth?
Kente Prints are designed to imitate the hand-woven designs
of the prestigious Kente cloths of Ghana. They are usually striped
and the design runs with the grain, so many of the cloths are
suitable for borders. The actual hand-woven Kente cloth was traditionally
reserved for use by nobles and royalty only, though as the social
system has changed, it can be purchased by anyone with sufficient
resources. The designs are often complicated, and it is not unusual
to see intricate weft float designs. At one time in the past,
fine Chinese silks were unwoven so that the thread could be included
in the narrow strip lengths that are sewn together to produce
the larger lengths.
What are the Gold Prints and how do I take care of them?
The Gold Prints have an additional (or sometimes only a single)
pass through the roller cloth printing press where a design is
printed in a petroleum based ink with a gold-like metallic color
onto the cloth. It is often done right over another design which
it may or may not have much to do with. Because the gold is printed
on the surface of the cloth, repeated rubbing will diminish the
strength of the color. So, for example, if you make a shirt with
this cloth, where the sleeves rub the body of the shirt, you
will see fading. Ditto where your legs rub together in trousers
made from this cloth. By extension, if you make a quilt with
this cloth that will be washed frequently, you may find that
the washing itself will diminish the gold color over time, so
maybe you want to avoid its use in children's quilts that demand
frequent cleaning. And finally, I would guess-and I do not know
this for certain-that a long time expose of this color-especially
in highly acidic environments-would cause the metallic component
to oxidize and fade. Whether the color is damaged by dry cleaning,
I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me. I'd be happy for feedback
on this from someone with more experience than I have--I keep
forgetting to take something to the cleaners.
How do I take care of the Korhogo Cloth?
In my experience, the dyes used in the cloth painted/dyed
in Korhogo, Ivory Coast, are not colorfast. The pieces I washed
all faded a lot. While the results--a faded gray sort of color--were
to totally bad, if you were expecting the color to remain strong,
you will be disappointed. Dry-Cleaning, however, cleans the cloth
and keeps the color strong.
How do I care for Mudcloth?
I usually wash the mudcloth in the washing machine with a
cool water temperature and a gentle cycle. I hang the cloth to
dry because the weaving may not be completely even through the
strips that make up the whole cloth. When I have cut (and zigzagged
the raw edges) for making smaller pieces, I usually wash and
dry mechinically. The color fades agreeably. If you wish to keep
the colors as strong as possible, I recommend dry cleaning.
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