Adire Fabric the Yoruba Cloth

What is Adire?

Adire fabric is the traditional indigo resist fabric made by the Yoruba people of Southern Nigeria. It translates to ‘We tie and dye’. Traditionally, the cloth was folded, pleated, and tied before dyeing in indigo to produce lengths of cloth which were then made up into garments. The fabric was predominantly produced by women.

Types of Adire:

Adire is made using various resist techniques.

Adire Oniko– The resist is created by tying with raffia before dyeing. There are actually three methods within this category
- Adire Eleso- small seeds or pebbles are tied in the fabric with raffia producing small circles in the design.
- Adire Elelo- the fabric is pleated and folded and then wound with raffia
- Adire Alabere- similar to the above but with hand stitching or machine stitching.
Adire Eleko– locally produced cassava starch was used as the resist. The designs were painted onto the fabric using the starch to create the designs. Metal stencils were also later used with the starch to create more precise designs.

Adire Alabela– this is modern adaptation the traditional processes where wax is used to create the designs and it the majority of the Adire we stock. Adire cloth is now also available in wide range of colours with the introduction of synthetic dyes.

There is a freehand pouring method which produces the marble effect Adire.