Above Photo by Juliet Uzor / Thumbnail Photo by Eva Blue on Unsplash

Celebrating Ankara Appreciation Week!

Last week Juliet Uzor and Lena King hosted Ankara Fabric Appreciation Week, a celebration of the joyful, vibrant fabric. Read on for more about Ankara fabric, tips for working with it, resources for buying it, and a whole lot of sewing inspiration.

About Ankara Fabric

Ankara fabric, also known as African wax prints, are often 100% cotton and feature colorful, vibrant designs printed using a wax-resist dyeing technique. Read more about how Ankara is made over at All Things Ankara, and watch how it can be printed one-of-a-kind by hand or manufactured in large quantities.

Got questions about wax print fabrics? Juliet Uzor has answers! Check out her video Ankara Fabrics : EVERYTHING you need to know about African Wax Fabrics.

Working with Ankara Fabric

Juliet Uzor wrote a blog post with her tips and tricks for sewing with wax prints.

And be sure to watch Josie's newest YouTube video, which features her sewing tips, plus a look at her Ankara stash and past fashion projects. 

Sewing Inspiration

What kinds of garments can you make with Ankara fabrics? Anything you can dream up! Check out these incredible projects made by talented sewists, and follow them on Instagram for more inspiration.

All images used with permission.

• Juliet • @julietuzor_ / Ankara Fabric Appreciation Week Host
• Lena • @thatlenaking / Ankara Fabric Appreciation Week Host
• Basma • @basmashimmies
• Raliat • @raliat.oyinlola
• Kaara • @honor_lane
• Gloria • @sifa.designs
• Eunice • @stylebymyeunice
• Cisca • @ciscastitches  

Buy Ankara Fabric

Below are a few Ankara fabric vendors. For more shops, check out Juliet Uzor's Ankara fabric sellers list.

Yara African Fabrics

Located in the heart of Harlem, New York City, Yara African Fabrics, LLC specializes in a beautiful assortment of rich African patterns and colors. They offer many styles including Woven Mud Cloth, Wax Print, Batik, Tie Dye, and Brocade. 

AKN Fabrics & Textiles

AKN specializes in African Prints, Swiss Voile, Lace Embroideries, Voiles, Holland/Dutch wax prints, Georges and Head ties for the West African market. They have a retail store in NYC and keep one of the largest stocks of African and Nigerian inspired fabrics in the world.

Fabrics USA

Located in NYC's Garment District, Fabrics USA Inc. is one of the leading African fabrics wholesale/retailers in the African fashion industry. They carry Vlisco, and other high-quality Holland Wax Prints in hundreds of exclusive and authentic African Prints Design.

Urbanstax

Urbanstax carries a selection of African fabrics including Ankara fabric, Aso-oke fabric, Kente, Adire, handmade batik, shweshwe and much more. They endeavour to source African prints and batiks manufactured or handmade on the African continent.

Community Engagement

Support Healing

Black friends, Black neighbors, Black lives are an important part of our sewing community and a fundamental part of our world. Black lives matter.

To my non-Black sewing friends, let's take the small step of supporting the healing of Black women and girls by donating to The Loveland Foundation Therapy Fund, Sewists Supporting the Well-Being of Black Women and Girls. To date we've raised $5,515.79 of our $7,500 goal.

The Loveland Foundation Therapy Fund brings opportunities and healing to communities of color, and especially to Black women and girls. The fund makes it possible for Black women and girls nationally to receive therapy support. Black women and girls deserve access to healing, and that healing will impact generations. The Loveland Foundation needs $600,000 in order to offer over 5,000 hours of free therapy sessions for Black women and girls to go to therapy.

Recommended Reading

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

Widespread reporting on aspects of white supremacy—from police brutality to the mass incarceration of Black Americans—has put a media spotlight on racism in our society. Still, it is a difficult subject to talk about. How do you tell your roommate her jokes are racist? Why did your sister-in-law take umbrage when you asked to touch her hair--and how do you make it right? How do you explain white privilege to your white, privileged friend?

In So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo guides readers of all races through subjects ranging from intersectionality and affirmative action to "model minorities" in an attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race and racism, and how they infect almost every aspect of American life—including the sewing community.