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Traditional Nigerian fabric
Nigeria has a rich history of textiles. There are many types of Nigerian fabrics, ranging from printed to woven and tied and dyed. These fabrics reflect both traditional and modern influences, showcasing the diverse artistic cultural heritage of Nigeria. These textiles not only preserve traditional techniques but also incorporate contemporary elements, capturing Nigeria’s vibrant artistic traditions and cultural richness.
When we speak of Nigerian fabric, we refer to fabric that is made in Nigeria as opposed to fabrics that are simply popular there. Perhaps the most popular being Adire (tie dye and batik) and Ankara (wax prints). The traditional woven Aso-oke fabric is also well known but perhaps not as popular as those previously mentioned.
There are even more lesser known fabrics such as Akwete and Okene, both loom woven textiles from Southern Nigeria.
We are champions of both modern and traditional Nigeria fabric and African fabric and therefore source and stock as many good quality ones as we can find. Here is an overview of the Nigerian fabric that we currently have in stock.
Aso-Oke
Aso-oke is a loom woven textile, made in Southern Nigeria. It is woven in narrow strips which are sewn together to make garments. These garments are typically worn during special occasions such as weddings, coronations and the like. Find out more about Aso-oke here.
Adire
Adire is a traditional indigo tie dye fabric from Southern Nigeria. It is now used to refer more broadly to various resist-dyed fabrics. The techniques used range from tie dye, stencilling, stamping, wax resist and so on. Find out more about Adire here.
Ankara
Ankara is the generic term in Nigeria for brightly coloured patterned wax print fabric. Though it’s origin is not African, believe it or not, some of the best quality Ankara was and to some extent is still produced in African countries. Nigeria was a huge producer and exporter in the 70’s and 80’s with manufacturers such as Nichem and UNTL. Find out more about Ankara here.
Okene
Okene is handwoven cloth predominantly woven by women in the town of Okene in central Nigeria. It was woven out of cotton and plant stem fibre. The cloth is produced on a vertical, single-heddle loom and it takes about three weeks to produce five yards of the cloth.
Lastly we have Akwete, which is a loom woven textile from the Igbo people of Nigeria. It is woven using a number of fibres ranging from cotton to rayon. These clothes were mainly used as women’s wraps in what is called ‘double-wrapper’ where two wrapround skirts are layered in outfit and completed with a blouse. (image coming soon)!
Interestingly, there are a lot more textiles, especially woven textiles, that are made in Nigeria. We will do further research to bring you more knowledge about these.
If you know of any other traditional Nigerian fabric, do share your knowledge. We would appreciate it.
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