The Big. The Bold. The Beautiful: Quilting with African Fabrics

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 are African wax prints?

Just in case you’re not entirely sure what African wax prints are, let me start by giving a brief introduction. In short, African wax prints, also known as Ankara fabrics, are modern colourful cotton cloths that are mostly used for clothing in large parts of Africa, and especially in places like Ghana and Nigeria.

It’s important to note that many of the graphics used on the fabrics are