Growing up in Pittsburgh, PA, I have always been a lover of African fabrics. Especially indigenous ones such as kente cloths and mud cloths, but those are very thickly woven textiles and they don’t always work that well for piecing.
However, once I began quilting about 20 years ago, I discovered African wax prints, which are 100% cotton. These fabrics work beautifully in patchwork quilts! So, early in my quilt journey, I began making quilted bags, wall hangings, table runners, place mats, throw quilts and, eventually, art and portrait quilts using Ankaras. I loved mixing corduroy, quilting cottons and denim in my African wall-hangings and embellishing them with cowrie shells.
“African wax prints, also known as Ankara fabrics, are modern colourful cotton cloths that are mostly used for clothing” What…
