Introduction:
Welcome to Bella’s Collections first blog! We are a women’s clothing store and carry adult and children’s sizes! We have a wide variety of the newest styles clothes! We import all of our clothes and they’re only the best quality! Come on in today and check us out!Â
In today’s blog we are going to talk about Kitenge Fabric! It is a West African fabric and we are going to dive right in! Check out all of the puctures and the table of contents below to see everything we cover!Â
Table of Contents:
- What is kitenge and the fabric?
- Different uses
- Photo Gallery
- Basic steps in African Wax Print Fabric Production
What is Kitenge Fabric?
Kitenge  is an East African, West African and Central African fabric  often worn by women and wrapped around the chest or waist, over the head as a headscarf, or as a baby sling. Kitenges are usually colorful pieces of fabric.
There is a festival in Kenya, called the Kitenge festival, it is a popular event held periodically and is meant to highlight the varied uses of Kitenge fabric. Kitenges are usually given as gifts to young women.
Different uses:
Kitenges can be used on occasions and in many ways either symbolically or for practical reasons.
- In Malawi, Kitenges are customary for women at funerals.
- The Maasai wears dark red kitenge garments to symbolize their love for and their dependence on the earth.
- They are used as a sling to hold a baby across the back of a mother. They can hold the baby at the front as well, particularly when breastfeeding.
4. They are sometimes tied together and used as decorative pieces at dinner tables.
5. When women go to the beach, often the Kitenge is wrapped around the bathing suit for modesty or to shield cold air.
6. Kitenges can be framed or otherwise hung up on the wall as a decorative batik artwork.
7. Kitenge cloth is also used to make a variety of clothing for women and in recent times men.
BASIC STEPS IN AFRICAN WAX PRINT FABRIC PRODUCTION:
Preparation
Raw cotton yarns are woven into grey cloth that is stiff and dirty. The cloth is then bleached white to clean and remove any impurities before being strengthened and stretched to its desired width.
Design
The prints are designed on a computer using CAD software in black and white form. Traditionally two or three colors are added to the cloth at the end of the production process. Each print design is usually produced in several different colorways.
Wax Printing
The design is engraved onto a pair of copper rollers before being printed onto both sides of the cloth using melted, molten wax. The wax used is a natural product that comes from pine tree resin.
Indigo Dying
The cloth is then put into an indigo dye bath where the exposed parts of the cloth are dyed and the resin covered parts are resisted. This process can also cause naturally formed fine cracks in the wax, which can allow small amounts of the dye to seep through onto the cloth.
Crackling Effect
The wax is then deliberately cracked using specific machinery depending on the desired outcome such as marbling and bubbles.
Coloration
Large, industrial printing machines are used to add solid colors to the design either before and/or after the wax is removed from the cloth. Sometimes part of the design is hand carved onto a wooden block and applied to the fabric by hand (called block printing). This coloration process is key to producing the highly distinctive and vibrant colors of all of our garments from African Dresses to African print trousers.
Washing
The cloth is then washed to remove all the small residues of wax and excess dyes ensuring that color fastness standards are met.
Finishing
There are different types of finishes that are applied to the cloth depending on the desired outcome. The fabric can sometimes look shiny which disappears after the first initial wash. Certain fabrics are more expensive due to the type of finishing used at the end of the manufacturing process, which can be costly.
Due to the nature of the wax printing process it is impossible to make each piece of cloth look exactly the same so they are truly unique. Furthermore because tailors cut the fabric used to make the clothing by hand, the print positioning is different on each item meaning each one is even more one of a kind!Â
Conclusion:
Today we went over what kitenge fabric is and all of the creative ways it can be used! We also went over the Basic steps in African Wax Print Fabric Production!Â
Our site is new but make sure to check back weekly, we will always be adding new blogs! Our blogs will cover many things including how to match outfits, where our clothes come from, the history behind it all and many more!Â
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