- Home
- About
-
Shop
-
Sewing Patterns
-
Fabric
- Sewing Supplies
- Folkwear Clothing
-
- Blog
- Customer Gallery
- Contact
The Gibson Girl Blouse - icon of the time
I love history and am always fascinated by the connections of people and their stories in history. So, I am going to do a small history lesson today about the Gibson Girl Blouse - which actually touches on my husband's family history too! Our sewing pattern is 205 Gibson Girl Blouse, and is iconic of the look of the time (late 1800s to early 1900s).
This look was made popular by Charles Dana Gibson, an American graphic artist who created the look of the ideal woman of the time - independent, stylish, beautiful. She was tall, slender (small waist, but with hips and broad shoulders), and athletic. Newly emancipated from the Victorian home, she might be entering the workplace, or bicycling through the park. Her hair was piled on top of the head, and her look was indifferent. His pen-and-ink illustrations appeared weekly in magazines and advertising. His wife, Irene Langhorne, and her four sisters inspired the look and were often his models.
The Langhorne sisters were from Reconstruction-era Virginia, and were spirited, charming, beautiful, and were accomplished riders. The other Langhorne sisters were Lizzie (oldest), Nancy (who married Waldorf Astor and became the first woman MP in England), Phyllis (also married a wealthy Englishman), and Nora. Nora was the youngest and quite impetuous. She married an Englishman as well, and her daughter was Joyce Grenfeld (famous British comedian). Nora ran off with other men a few times, and one man was Lefty Flynn, a famous American actor of the time and formal football player. She eventually became Lefty's third wife and they lived in Tryon, NC. While in Tryon, they became friends with my husband's great-grandparents, James and Elizabeth McClure. James would sometimes try to help Lefty get sober, and they always had amusing times together. I've heard a few stories of their parties and their friendship.
To learn more about the Langhorne sisters, I recommend the book Five Sisters: the Langhornes of Virginia by James Fox. It is a fun read (can even be a great beach/summer book).
And, the model for our Gibson Girl Blouse here is James McClure's great-granddaughter! Interesting connections
You might wonder what the World Cup and sewing have to do with each other, and I have to admit - not much! But, a fact you may not know about me is that I love soccer (or football as most of the rest of the world calls it). I love playing - I played in high school and college (recreation), and I play in an adult league now. I loved coaching my kids soccer teams, and I love watching soccer. I have been excited to watch the World Cup, even though all the games fall during work hours. As a side note, I wonder how much work productivity is lost worldwide when World Cup is going on :-). I am definitely taking 2 hour lunch breaks to watch games!
So I was thinking today about how great it is that all these teams from all over the world come together to compete in this well-loved game. And, as I was thinking about all the teams playing in this tournament, Folkwear patterns came to my mind as well. So many of countries that are competing also have patterns in the Folkwear line.
In case you are interested, Folkwear has patterns from 13 of the 32 countries competing this year:
Australia (130 Australian Bush Outfit,137 Australian Drover's Coat, 138 Child's Australian Drovers Coat)
Russia (128 Russian Settler's Dress)
Japan (lots of patterns: Field Clothing, Kimono, Hapi & Haori, Tabi, Hakama & Kataginu, Michiyuki, Interior)
Mexico (142 Old Mexico Dress, 109 Little Folks)
South Korea (141 Korean Han-Bok)
Germany (123 Austrian Dirndl - ok, its named Austrian, but it is also German!)
Spain (140 Flamenco Dress and Skirt)
Egypt (104 Egyptian Shirt)
Morocco (109 Little Folks - Moroccan Djellaba and 132 Moroccan Burnoose)
France (102 French Cheesemaker's Smock)
Croatia (117 Croatian Shirt)
England (221 English Smock)
Poland (126 Vests from Greece and Poland)
Belgium (133 Belgian Military Chef's Coat)
And, one of our out-of-print patterns (Yoruba Pants) is from Nigeria.
So, maybe you will root for one of these teams. I am rooting for all of them, all the underdogs, and Argentina (that may cover all the teams :-))!
I love how soccer/football brings so many cultures together. Textiles/fashion can do the same, and I hope that Folkwear patterns honors these cultures and the textiles and garments. and I hope now you might have a little more interest in this World Cup!!
So, do you follow soccer/football? Are you watching this World Cup?
You can easily add embroidery to the cuff of the 119 Sarouelles Indian pants version. The pattern comes with 4 embroidery patterns that can be used on the cuff (or you can create your own!), and lots of instruction. These embroidery patterns are designed for using your basic sewing machine to do the embroidery, though you can do it by hand if you like. You will be amazed at how quickly and easily these designs and techniques work up.
I am showing a sample here of one of the patterns worked up on a cuff facing. Normally, you would do the embroidery right onto the pants leg, and face it with the facing (in the back).
Also know that your embroidery design does not need to match when the leg seam is sewn. Having unmatched embroidery design at the seam is very authentic.
What You Will Need
Transferring the Design
We provide 4 embroidery designs for the cuffs of these pants, and they can be worked a variety of ways. You can transfer the designs freehand (I like to use a washable fine tip marker for this, but I'm not always great at freehand, especially with precise corners!). Or, you can use dressmaker's carbon and a tracing wheel. Working on a hard surface, secure the fabric and facing design right side up on the cuff. Make sure you have the design 3/4" above the raw edge. I used a couple of pattern weights when I did this sample, but the removable tape we sell would also be great! Slide the tracing paper (carbon side down) under the pattern and trace the design with the wheel, pressing firmly.
Embroidery Hints
Be sure to stabilize your fabric before embroidering. I used a medium weight iron-on interfacing.
It helps to adjust the tension of the top thread to achieve a smoother look. The top thread should be slightly pulled to the underside of the fabric. You can test the tension before you start (though I did it in the first pass I did).
When making sharp curves or corners, always stop stitching with the needle down in the fabric then lift the presser foot and rotate the fabric.
I used a zigzag stitch for this sample - with a stitch length of 0.8 and a width of 2.5.
Press the embroidery with it facing down when finished.
For straight stitching, use machine embroidery thread top-stitching thread or strong quilting thread so it will be clearly seen.
Start working on the bottom row of the design and move up toward the top of the cuff, which will be the last row you do.
You could add trim, rick-rack, or soutache instead of embroidery, especially on the very geometric designs (like this one). Or, try different color and types of thread.
Stitching on top of the copied design - narrow zigzag.
Adding new colors.
Finished cuff (this is a sample made on a cuff facing), but that's the design. I like it! Maybe time to try it on a real pair of Sarouelles.
We have two featured patterns of the month this month - the 119 Sarouelles and 261 Paris Promenade Dress! Both easy to sew, classic, and beautiful- and are on sale this month!
Folkwear's 119 Sarouelles pattern consists of three patterns for pants from three continents - each unique yet all sharing similarities of cut. These pants are comfortable, timeless, and practical, and will be perfect in your wardrobe! African Sarouelles, sized for men and women (above, top), have a simple drawstring waist and taper to the ankle. The Turkish pants (above, middle) are full and flowing and gathered at the waist and ankles. The The Indian pants (above, bottom) are gathered in the front above the thigh into a wide hip panel and drawstring waist. Shaped cuffs are faced and can be traditionally embellished with embroidery. Instructions and four embroidery designs for the cuff come with the pattern, as well as an extensive history of these pants! And, all of these pants are quick and easy to sew! As an added bonus, there is little wasted fabric when making these pants because they are cut with a traditional no-waste design.
The 261 Paris Promenade Dress is inspired by fashion from the early 1920's, when loose, flowing gowns, reminiscent of Classical Greek clothing, was popular. This simple, but elegant, dress is made from just three main pattern pieces. The different sections of the dress (dress/skirt, overdress, and lining) are great for putting together interesting fabric combinations for contrast effects -either with different prints, colors, stripes, or textures. The full dress shape is defined at the waist by a self-fabric sash (or can be made from decorative cord). This pattern also comes with a pattern for a period drawstring bag with instructions for making your own cording and tassels, as well as a history of fashion of the time. This flattering dress comes together quickly and is fairly easy to sew.
Today, we welcome a guest post by Rita DeWitt, who made an amazing 264 Monte Carlo Dress.
-------------------------------
PROJECT: Folkwear 264 Monte Carlo Dress made with Up-cycled Vintage Silk Kimonos
MY PROJECT GOAL: Make a unique and inexpensive family wedding reception dress using up-cycled silk kimonos…and have fun doing it!
CHOOSING THE PATTERN: I began with Folkwear Vintage Pattern #264 for a period Monte Carlo dress “a sleek slip dress in the 1920’s flapper style” (from pattern description). I did not use the coordinating tunic top pattern, as I already had a purchased one. The design is a simple scooped neckline, shoulder straps, a loose torso, and a bias “twirl” skirt. No zippers or fastenings or buttons or complications.
CHOOSING FABRICS: I purchased a bulk kimono order from YokoDana Kimono’s vintage silk kimonos. I chose three peach and ivory colored kimonos whose colors harmonized. I laid out the three kimonos for visual compatibility with my purchased blue velvet tasseled over-garment.
Since I am a “big American woman,” I would need three of the kimonos for adequate yardage, using one kimono for the bodice, and one kimono for each half of the skirt. Choosing three different fabrics allowed a nice variety of color and style.
Sample of vintage silk kimono fabrics from Yoko Dana.
CONSTRUCTION PLANNING AND MAKING AESTHETIC CHOICES: I kept the original kimonos’ sewing and linings intact, as the Folkwear pattern pieces are very simple. I used only the lower part of the kimonos and parts of two sleeves for this dress. That leaves the upper parts of all three kimonos mostly intact for further up-cycling. Since I left all the original stitching in place, and the linings (even parts of the front kimono “flaps”), I ended up with a fully lined dress. The lined silk pieces for the skirt were much heavier fabric than the design called for, but they gave a very full, luxuriant presence.
Sewing tip: if you want to use the kimono fabric with its linings, I suggest that you stay-stitch the linings to the fabric pieces (all loose edges) immediately after you cut the pattern pieces from the kimono. And you definitely want to stay-stitch any bias-cut edges.
Below is the Folkwear Pattern #264 Monte Carlo dress with my selected thread colors. This pattern was chosen because it is a simple drop tunic which consisted of only three main pattern pieces (bodice front, bodice back, and skirt) which could easily be cut from the flat kimono lower areas. No complicated sleeves, a simple strap for the shoulders, no buttons, no zippers, no other fastenings or detailing. The simple structure also allowed the beauty of the vintage fabrics to be a main focus.
FINISHED BODICE TOP: After sewing the bodice, I machine embroidered the seams and edges with a rayon Sulky thread in a rich yellow-gold. I stitched down the middle front, around the armholes, and along pieces that I had to patchwork fit to improvise the torso wide enough for moi.
Machine stitching around neck and armholes shows white bobbin thread on inside of bodice, and gold spool thread on outside of bodice. Stitching down center front was decorative as well as structural. The bodice/top was embroidered after construction, but before attaching the skirt.
The inner linings of the kimonos were patterned fabrics also, as is visible here on the back inside of the bodice and armhole at right.
DETAIL VIEW OF BODICE PIECING: This finished view of a side seam in the bodice area shows pieced fabric scraps which fill a pattern area not covered by the original kimono fabric. This was emphasized by gold embroidery and topstitching rather than trying to disguise the patchwork construction.
Attached skirt is visible at lower left.
HEM DETAILS OF FINISHED DRESS: As was noted, the kimono garments were cut apart, but were kept with their original individual linings intact. The fluid design of the skirt allowed movement to show the original kimono linings as well as the surface silks.
After the skirt was attached, I machine embroidered along the hem edges of the skirt, as some of the vintage hand stitching that held the linings in place was fragile. On the hem edges, I used the full embroidery stitch in most places where the combined lining/fabric was thinner. But where there was a heavy facing, I kept stitching with the same yellow thread, but switched it to a single basting stitch, carrying the color onward. Some parts of the kimono construction were just too thick to machine embroider without breaking thread.
CLOSER VIEW OF HEM DETAILS: Machine embroidery on hem was done to stabilize linings as well as to embellish. On the run, I switched between embroidery stitches to accommodate thinner or thicker fabrics. I used a range from more decorative stitches on light areas, to a basting stitch in very thick fabric areas. Machine embroidery was done with gold spool thread on outside of hem and white bobbin thread showing on inside linings.
FINISHED GARMENT FRONT: Here is my finished garment, shown with a purchased 1980’s vintage blue velvet over-cape edged with beaded tassels. I wore the two with a beaded period macramé necklace with incorporated pink seashell and dropped beading. So fun!
FINISHED GARMENT BACK: Back view of Monte Carlo dress with velvet vintage over-cape. Back of macrame necklace counter-weight shows at neckline.
CLOSE-UP OF FINISHED DRESS FRONT: Here is a little close up of the details on the bodice with the over-cape.
PROJECT RESULTS: I enjoyed “up-cycling” the silk kimonos and got unexpected and unusual effects because of that. The beautiful inner lining colors showed on the skirting when the dress was in motion. I had to change my embroidery patterns to accommodate fabric weights, which actually gave more variety.
The structure of the Folkwear pattern allowed me to utilize vintage kimonos effectively. When worn, the silk fabric combined with the design of the pattern made me feel elegant.
At the family wedding reception I received numerous compliments, even some from the event’s wedding professionals! I was VERY happy with my results.
-----------------------------------------------
All text and photographs copyright Rita DeWitt, 2017 and 2018.
Kids Clothes Week (KCW) is a challenge, organized by a few mom-sewists, to spend one hour each day of one week sewing clothing for the children in your life. They have a fun website with lots of resources on patterns and sewing, a great community where people post their pictures, and a fun blog. I have participated many times in the past, and just found out that there is new week coming up (next week)!
This is such a fun challenge and I always enjoyed being intentional about sewing for my kids. Sometimes I would get a couple of items sewn up, sometimes I would just get a few projects cut out, but it always got me planning and working on fun projects for them.
This season, Kids Clothes Week will be April 23-29, 2018, and the theme is Fresh. Read more here. You can find out more about Kids Clothes Week here, and sign up for the challenge here.
This would be a great week to work on some of Folkwear's kids patterns! We have a great selection of children's patterns. And to get your inspired to sew for the kids in your life for Kids Clothes Week, they will be on sale from today (April 17) to the end of KCW!
Happy Sewing (for kids)!
Did you know that April is National Card and Letter Writing Month (as designated by the USPS)?
We have been sending postcards out with our orders for the last year as a fun way to thank you for your order and to provide updated contact information. We love the beautiful (Gretchen Schields) artwork on the cards, and thought you would too! Do you ever use your postcards? We would love to know where they end up! In case you haven't been using them -I mean, they are lovely stuck on a fridge or on your wall, so that's totally fine too - but if you haven't been mailing them, we have a few ideas for you!
And, share your ideas in the comments on this post and let us know what great uses you have (or will) put the postcards to!
I am just going to start this blog post by saying that I mainly observed the batiking process for Global Mamas for a few days at one place in Ashaiman, Ghana (near the capital), so I am certainly not an expert nor have I thoroughly studied all Ghanaian batiking techniques. :-)) Also, many of these pictures are courtesy of Global Mamas (and some of them are mine).
This history of batiking in Ghana goes back quite a long way. I wrote a little about it in the post I where I wrote about my time in Ghana in February. I wanted to go a little more in depth here and post a few more photos.
The basic process the starts with a block dipped in melted paraffin to place the design on fabric, repeating the design for 6 to 12 yards of fabric at a time. Fabric can be dyed before the wax is applied, or not, depending on the colors desired.
The blocks for printing were traditionally made of wood, but now are mostly made of foam mattress pieces. Foam mattress are everywhere in Ghana and make great batik tools because they are easy to carve into shapes.
Another volunteer carving a foam piece for a sample batik pattern. She is wearing a dress of fabric that she batiked.
The parafin wax is melted over a coal or gas fire in a wide pan. The women use the wax over and over and even reclaim wax used on previous fabric, so the wax is usually a brown color. They boil any water (from reclaiming the wax) off, and dip the foam design in the hot wax, letting excess drip off (or shaking it off). The batikers carefully and quickly set the design on the fabric, pressing just enough to get the design set but not enough to push too much wax in the fabric and distort the design. That was the part I found the most tricky when I tried batiking. Sometimes I would not press hard enough and not all the design would come through and sometimes I would press too hard and wax would push out into the fabric and distort the design. The batikers could get a couple of design repeats per dip in the hot wax, then they would dip again. They worked quickly and efficiently to cover 6 or 12 meters of cotton at at time.
After the wax cooled and dried, the fabric is carefully dyed so as not to crack the wax and let in the dye into the design. If the wax cracks, the dye goes into what was supposed to be a clear area of the design. Sometimes that is desired (see the dress below - she cracked the wax on the first design and it gives it an interesting texture), but usually not. The wax keeps the dye from penetrating the waxed area, thus creating an area that resists the dye.
The dyed fabric is dried on a line, then the wax must be removed from the fabric. The batikers carefully push each fabric section into a simmering cauldron of water. The wax floats out of the fabric to the top of the cauldron, where it is skimmed off to be reused. After simmering for 10-20 minutes, the fabric is placed in a large bucket of cold water and a woman quickly goes through the fabric to make sure all the wax is off, again skimming off any extra wax to be reused.
De-waxing: wooden stick is used to keep the fabric below the surface of the simmering water and to agitate the fabric, and a large ladle is used to skim of the melted wax that floats to the surface. Note the waxed and dyed fabric waiting to be de-waxed.
Washing the fabric in cool water after de-waxing; making sure no wax is left on fabric.
Then, the fabric is hung to dry again. When the fabric is dry it is brushed with a piece of foam to get off any last remaining bits of wax clinging to fibers.
If the cloth needs to have another design (for instance, different color dots on top of a floral design), the process is repeated, with different blocks and different dye baths. This batik process can be repeated several times to get the colors and designs desired.
Quite intensive (and hot) process! But, what beautiful fabric!
Our 131 Tibetan Chupa pattern is based on the authentic garment worn as part of the traditional dress for men and women of the Tibetan region of the Himalayas. For centuries, the chupa (or chuba) was worn with added layers of shirts, aprons, woolen sashes, and a panel coat. Today, you can wear this on its own or with a blouse for a beautiful modern look. Our chupa features a wrap front and shaping that results in a slimming silhouette. The dress is not a full wrap because you step into the skirt portion (or pull over), so will never flap open!
Sized for Missses Extra Small to Extra Large, it also includes a pattern for a chupa-inspired skirt. This is a simple garment to sew and very easy to fit. You can make it in various lengths from above knee to maxi length (I love my above-knee chupa). This is a such a flattering pattern - and perfect for spring. It can be worn in this changing weather - layered in cooler temps, and on its own in warmer ones, taking you right into the next season!
We are also featuring the 223 A Lady's Chemise this month. Usually hand-stitched of fine lawn or muslin, the chemise was the garment worn next to a lady's skin in the Victorian era. Today, our Lady's Chemise is the perfect nightgown or simple summer dress, or shirt. Delicate pleats accent the center front and back of the neckline (which is adjustable with ribbon drawstrings), and the short cap sleeves are gathered and ruffled. This garment can be cut at knee length for a gown/dress or at the hip to make a blouse. We also include instructions and alphabet designs for a Victorian monogram and authentic detailing.
Isn't this a gorgeous setting? We do most of our photo shoots now at my husband's grandparents home, a historic inn that his artist great-grandmother decorated in the 1910s (and it hasn't changed much since then!).
We have 3 yards of hand-batiked, fair trade cotton fabric from Global Mamas to giveaway!
Global Mamas is the NGO that I worked with in Ghana last month. They work with women who hand batik and sew, to create beautiful certified fair trade clothing and accessories to sell in Europe and the USA. The women who work with are paid well and enjoy classes and other benefits provided through Global Mamas. It was a fun experience to work with Global Mamas for the 2 weeks I was in Ghana, and I loved staying in the home of one of their seamstresses. It was a privilege to meet the women and staff at Global Mamas, learn from them, and work alongside them.
This fabric is Monsoon Mustard (one of their most popular colorways) and would be perfect for many of our patterns: 102 French Cheesemaker's Smock, 104 Egyptian Shirt, 110 Little Kittel, 112 Japanese Field Clothing, 119 Sarouelles, 129 Japanese Hapi and Haori, 131 Tibetan Chupa and Skirt, 135 Jewels of India, and 142 Old Mexico Dress.
To enter this giveaway, you need to follow us on Instagram (@folkwearsewing.patterns) follow Global Mamas (@global_mamas) and tag a friend in the comments on our post for the giveaway.
Ends, March 31 at 5 PM (EDT) - so check it out and let your friends know!!
**Warning! This post is very long, so I’ve broken it down by category. If you just want to read about the fabrics and textiles, scroll on down. If you want to know more about Ghana culture, my experiences, as well as the fabric and fashion, you should read the whole thing!**
Intro
I am back from my trip to Ghana! I spent just over two weeks immersed in 
Ghanaian life on the west coast of Africa. I was a volunteer for Global Mamas, a fair-trade business/non-profit that sells clothing, jewelry, and home goods made by women in Ghana. For Global Mamas production, women batik cotton cloth (now organic cotton cloth), sew the clothing and goods, and make beads from recycled glass to create jewelry. Global Mamas sells the finished products world-wide, and the women are well-paid, have steady income, and attend free development and health workshops regularly.
It took a little time to get used to being in Ghana - the heat, the food, the trash, the open sewers, the language - but I adjusted quickly and enjoyed it. Most of the time I was in Ghana, I stayed with a Ghanaian family in Cape Coast (about 3 hours west of the capital, Accra). One of the seamstresses that sews for Global Mamas, Sarah, and her husband Red, were my hosts. Sarah is an amazing woman who could sew incredibly fast and well, with rarely any mistakes on a hand cranked sewing machine. She is a “master” seamstress (official designation), and she also sews clothing for other people, as well as graduation robes for the local university. Sarah sews nearly all the time - unless she was washing clothes (by hand . . . all of Ghana washes their clothes by hand), dishes, or cooking (which she often did over a little coal fire just outside the kitchen). She could put out amazing food in no time! But, still the vast majority of her time was spent behind her sewing machine. I got her to come out for a walk with me one day, and that was fun as she showed me around her neighborhood which included a hospital where we walked past the maternity ward and could hear women in labor!
Food
Ghanaian food is quite good and very important! A couple of things to know: 1) it is usually spicy, 2) it is always eaten with the right hand, using no utensils, and 3) there are usually large servings. It is also usually very cheap. I could eat a lunch from the stand on the street for about $0.50, and I could also buy a big meal at a nice sit-down restaurant for about $15. And, bananas, oranges, pineapple, mango, papaya, etc. can be found from vendors on nearly every street and are delicious.
My favorite meals were steamed plantain and cabbage stew, a kind of stir fried pasta with lots of vegetables, smoked fish, and eggs, and red red (red beans, red sauce, fried plantains). These were the only meals I could finish because portions were so large that I could rarely eat all the food served me. But those were so good (and portion size a little more manageable) that I could do it!
Fish is ubiquitous in Cape Coast. They come sun-dried, salted, smoked, fried, fried-and-dried, and ground into sauces, and they are put into just about dish you can eat. It seemed like the main fish used are small and quite boney, but by the time they are smoked, cooked, and stewed, or just ground into a paste, you can just eat the bones, like a sardine. The slightly larger fish can sometimes be very boney, but fish like red fish or cassava fish had quite a lot of nice white meat on them and are delicious fried. Sometimes a stew with fish in it (very common) also would have a little sand too because the fish are brought into the beach, laid in the sand and sold, then taken to compounds to be processed. The fish are washed before processing (gutting and drying/smoking), but often not all the sand gets rinsed off. I never minded it - it just reminded me of how fresh and local the fish was.
Above photo of fish being dried and smoked, ocean in background.
Other important national foods here are jollof (rice cooked in spicy tomato sauce to make a red rice), banku (fermented cornmeal and cassava mush), kenke (fermented cornmeal mush), fufu (pounded cassava and plantain), and rice balls (overcooked rice mush molded into balls). All of these starches are eaten by hand (right hand only) with some kind of stew - okra stew, light soup, red soup, green soup, groundnut soup, cabbage stew, palm nut soup, etc and maybe a little meat (goat, chicken, or fish). Each starch seems to go with one or two of those soups. For instance, I tried to get banku with palm nut soup and the waiter was shocked. He insisted that I have okra stew with it, and I insisted that I have the palm nut soup, and so he brought me banku with palm nut soup and okra stew mixed together in my bowl! He just could not serve me banku without okra stew!
Water is mainly drunk from a ½ liter plastic bag, costing about $0.04 each. Everyone does this, and many simply throw their empty bag on the ground when they are done (there is a lot of plastic trash everywhere in Ghana, though there seem to be recycling programs that people are starting to use). To drink water out of a bag, you bite off one corner of the bag and drink from that corner. You usually need to drink all the water at once as it is not easy to carry around and can easily fall over if placed down half-full.
People
People in Ghana were overwhelmingly nice, maybe especially to foreigners. Nearly everyone greeted me with a smile and a “good day”. As an obroni (or white person/foreigner), I stuck out significantly. Children thought this was hilarious and would often yell “obroni” until I looked and waved. Then they would dissolve in giggles and wave back. Sometimes children wanted to shake hands or get high fives or just touch me. People everywhere would ask where I was from, what was I doing in Ghana, what was my name, how long was I in Ghana, etc. Politeness is important and stopping to talk to a stranger was considered polite. I got invited to a funeral while I was waiting at baggage claim, before I’d even left the airport on my first day (funerals are big important parties) and was often invited to events or to visit people or places. This type of politeness also felt familiar as a Southerner because while I am sure I would have been welcome to all the events and places I was invited to, I was not really expected to show up or follow through with them!
My Work
My work at Global Mamas was to focus on product development and social media content. But, after arriving it turned out they needed a presentation on organic cotton production for education for the office staff. They recently switched to organic cotton fabric for their products and there was an issue with the batik wax staining the fabric during the dewaxing process (batik process outlined below). They were trying to solve this problem while I was there, working out new de-waxing techniques that the batikers could easily use, as well as educate the staff on why they were changing to organic cotton fabric. The batik problem is likely due to the different finish (and possibly processing) of the new fabric and was a concern with many of those who worked for Global Mamas. Doing education on organic cotton was right in my wheelhouse, so I was happy to do that. I did have to figure out how to make it simple enough that people who don’t have English as a first language nor any background in agriculture could understand it. It was nice to integrate my agriculture background with my newer work in textiles and sewing.
After making the presentation, I focused on product development. I drafted patterns and sewed samples for several new garments and home good items that have potential to be added to their product line in the next year. Pattern drafting in Ghana was a bit different than in the US. I did not use much paper (it is a much more precious commodity). I taped together office paper with masking tape, piecing it until I had just enough to draft with - using scraps and cutting paper in half to use as little as possible. I am sure those patterns will need to be drafted again, but I wanted to do it quickly and efficiently for those first couple of drafts.
Pants and kimono sleeve top, drafted and sewn samples (un-hemmed):
I sewed my samples on two machines: a hand-crank Butterfly (the same kind as Sarah used) “Made in the Republic of China” machine and an industrial machine. Neither machine was very easy to use (I was rightly relegated to those machines as the only other one was often used for trainings for workers). The tension didn’t seem right in the hand-crank and I couldn’t figure it out and the industrial machine spit oil every time it was run and both machines immediately broke thread as soon as I tried to backstitch. But, they were both fun to use . . . for a short time!
The hand-crank machine was also useful when we had a “lights out” event which only happened twice while I was in the office, for a several hours, but does occur fairly often. I was able to keep working through the power outage with the hand-crank machine.
Global Mamas office - quality control.
Sewing and Fabric in Ghana
It seemed like there are seamstresses, sewing shops, tailors, or fabric stores on every street in Cape Coast. Men and women are sewing in open air shops, mostly on hand-crank machines, everywhere. Often these little shops also have at least one industrial machine and/or serger to use when appropriate (like when finishing seams, hems, or when a little extra strength is needed in the seam). You can get a dress or pants or skirt or shirt made in any of these shops for anywhere between $2 and $8 (USD). A fellow volunteer, had two dresses made with fabric she bought. The seamstress took no measurements and was only given a description of the desired dress, and she made a cute fit and flare dress and an A-line dress and short sleeves. Both fit wonderfully and were finished within a day or two. It is quite impressive!
Seamstress shop - only about this big. They were working on a wedding dress too.
Finishing seams on the dress because no alterations were needed.
Fabric is also impressive in Ghana. A lot of African fabrics are printed in China and they are cheaper, very colorful with good designs, but the quality of the fibers/weave/feel is lower. Ghana has several of its own manufacturers. Akosombo Textiles (ATL), GTP (Ghana Textile Prints), Woodin (upscale shop with slightly more modern prints), and Printex are all printed in Ghana and are high quality. GTP and Woodin are associated with Vlisco fabrics (Holland-based company). Then there are batik fabrics which are batiked locally and sold in the local markets. There are no brand names for these fabrics and I enjoyed finding them and looking at the different prints and designs that were created - everything from symbols and plant shapes to stripes to plaids. Fabric was also fairly inexpensive. The cheap Chinese fabrics were about $2/yard. The nicer Ghana-printed fabrics were about $3.50/yard and Woodin fabrics were about $4.50/yard. The local batik fabric was around $2.00/yard.
Traditional Ghana batik (read more about process below)
African Wax Prints, or Ankara. These circle designs were very popular and symbolize a well.
Everyone in Ghana will dress up. Church is a suitable place to show off your fashions and women and men were decked out in their finest prints and designs, but everyday-wear was amazing as well. Seamstresses and tailors come up with their own clothing designs. Ruffles, flounces, pleats, gathers, interesting sleeves, small cold-shoulder looks, skirts of every size and shape. You can see different designs everywhere. I enjoyed looking at women’s and men’s clothing in the street every day. I love a man in a plain t-shirt and tailored Ankara/African Wax Print pants or shorts. I loved the high, tight-waisted A-line skirts, the wrap skirts, and the long and flowing skirts in Ankara prints. I was constantly people watching - often for their fashion - and it was so rewarding! I wish I had more pictures of people in their clothes, but Ghanaians are sensitive about having the photos taken and I didn't feel I could stop people and ask them if I could have their photo.
Sarah at a wedding. Black and white is traditional for wearing at weddings and funerals.
Ghana, is of course, also known for its kente cloth. It was harder to find kente cloth in Cape Coast where I was staying because it is woven in the Ashanti region which is about 4 hours north. Kente cloth is woven by men and the colors have symbolic meaning. It is woven on a small narrow loom in strips about 5” wide. The strips can be sewed together to create larger cloth. Usually cloth is in combinations of orange, red, green, and yellow. I found some with pink in it (which is symbolic of love) and I like those a little better. In Accra, I found a small shop in the Arts Center where a man was weaving kente cloth. I attended a wedding one weekend and a few of the elder men wore kente cloth wraps of about 6 yards. The bride’s gown was also made of kente cloth made in a very modern way - high-waisted fitted skirt with a mermaid tail to the ground and a lace and beaded bodice.
Wedding dress with a kente cloth skirt.
Traditional men's wear for special occasions, like church or wedding (as in this case). Gentleman on the right is wearing handwoven kente cloth (strips sewn together), and on the left a black and white (also traditional for weddings) print.
I also fell in love with the traditional Ghanaian tunic, called a Batakari, or Fugu. This sleeveless tunic is made of handwoven fabric of simple design and has a keyhole or star neckline that is embroidered. Sidenote: I was told Ghanaian sewers/seamstresses do not like to embroider or do handwork and I found that true. They admired my embroidery but showed no interest in learning it or doing it. All the tunics I saw were machine embroidered, i.e. machine zigzagged, at this point. Still beautiful and still possible to hand embroider, but not done in recent times). The tunic fans out to a large pleated skirt just below the chest area. The women’s versions frequently have elastic at the waist to draw in the fabric and make it more feminine (accentuate the waist). And, these tunics usually have pockets with embroidered openings below the underarms.
Men's Tunic
Women's Tunic (sometimes the waist is lower, at natural waistline)
Batik
Batiking fabric has been a traditional way of creating designs on fabric for a long time in Ghana. For more of this history, read this article. The women that batik for Global Mamas also make batiks that they sell at the markets, or they may also screen print school and business logos onto wax print cloth for uniforms. The process the women use is to heat paraffin wax and dip a block print in the wax, then place the print on fabric, repeating the design for 6 to 12 yards of fabric at a time. The fabric can be dyed first or not. The blocks for printing were traditionally made of wood, but now are made of foam mattress pieces. Foam mattress are everywhere in Ghana and make great batik tools because they are so easy to carve into shapes. After the wax has dried, the fabric can be carefully dyed so as not to crack the wax and let in the dye into the design. The wax keeps the dye from penetrating the waxed area, thus creating an area that resists the dye.
Batiked fabrics drying in the sun.
The dyed fabric is dried, then to get the wax out of the fabric, the fabric is set into a simmering cauldron of water. The wax floats out of the fabric and to the top of the cauldron, where it is skimmed off to be reused. After simmering for 10-20 minutes, the fabric is placed in a large bucket of cold water and a woman quickly goes through the fabric to make sure all the wax is off. Then, the fabric is hung up to dry and when dry is brushed with a piece of foam to get off any wax clinging to fibers. Then, if the cloth needs to have another design (for instance, different color dots on top of a floral design), the process is repeated, with different blocks and different dye baths. This batik process can be repeated several times to get the colors and designs desired. Many of the batikers cook their wax and their hot water cauldrons over wood or coal. Only a few use gas. Quite intensive (and pretty hot) process!
Dewaxing the fabric in hot water (note the waxed batiks to the side waiting for their turn in the cauldron).
Washing the batik.
Other Ghana Fashion of Interest - Beads
Bead making in Ghana is also important. Most beads are made in the Ashanti and Volta regions (central and northern regions). The tradition dates back a long way but has evolved to using glass that is ground up by hand, heated, and shaped into beads. The beads come in all shapes and the larger ones are also often hand painted. The beads are made into necklaces, bracelets, earrings, waist beads, and anklets. Beads are worn for many reasons, some symbolic of status or feeling, but mainly now for adornment. Men and women wear beads, though men usually wear them as bracelets and anklets. I loved the beads in Ghana and bought quite a few.
Visiting Accra
I had just over one day to visit Accra, and a fellow volunteer decided to join me. We headed from Cape Coast to the capital on a bus and made it to Accra in about 2.5 hours - our driver was a fast (and a bit scary), but we made it safely by early afternoon. We checked into the Olma Colonial Suites, a lovely little hotel with apartments that are spacious and beautiful and a pool.
My morning workspace at Olma Colonial Suites. So beautiful and peaceful (and they serve a great breakfast too).
Once settled, we got a bite to eat at Burger and Relish (probably the most expensive meal of my trip, but very good) and took a taxi to historic Jamestown and walked from Nkruma Memorial Park to the Jamestown Lighthouse. There are a few colonial buildings in Jamestown: an old British slave fort cum prison (in which Nkruma, first president of Ghana, which was the first independent country in Africa, was imprisoned for a time) cum tourist attraction, a Dutch slave fort, some homes, and the lighthouse are some of the most important. At the lighthouse, we met Daniel, a Rasta teacher at the school in the fishing village below the lighthouse. He offered to take us on a tour of the village, which was very interesting - fishing boats, kids swimming and playing, football games on the beach, crabs drying, men swimming to their boats, chaos. It was beautiful. We also stopped at a café in Jamestown (Jamestown Café) which was a fun spot of literature, art, music, food, and drinks.
Back at the hotel, after a dip in the pool to cool down, we headed out to probably the best Thai restaurant in Africa. Food was cooked right in front of us and it was absolutely delicious and fresh! Then, we headed for drinks at Republic Bar & Grill where we had a local palm spirit-hibiscus cocktail that was delicious and listed to Ghanaian hip hop.
The next day we did some major shopping. Starting at the Arts Center, near Nkruma Memorial Park, we toured the galleries of contemporary art and sculpture, then headed to the many artists booths selling all the traditional crafts of Ghana: beads, instruments, clothing, carvings, textiles, leather bags, paintings, and woven baskets. I could have spent a lot of money here, but had to remind myself I did not have a way to get everything I would have wanted home (nor enough money to get all I wanted!). I settled for a beautiful old Ewe weaving, a pair of beaded salad tongs, a couple of bead strands, and some carved elephants (for my children). Just browsing everything here was a treat.
Contemporary Art Gallery at the Arts Center
Kente cloth weaver (traditionally men) weaving a strip of kente cloth.
Then, we headed to Makola Market, the largest market in Accra, selling everything from vegetables to toiletries to fabric to enormous live snails! We navigated a maze of vendors, awed by all the goods being sold.
A fabric vendors stall in Makola Market.
I did buy some fabrics from the market. Then, we headed back to Uso, the neighborhood where we were staying. We walked to Elle Lokko, an awesome little store with well-priced locally designed clothes, jewelry, and accessories. And, came across the Art Institute (ANO) located just next to it. ANO had a beautiful small exhibit on the Ghanaian fashion designer, Kofi Ansah. It was beautiful and interesting. These kimonos were stunning.
We also made it to The Shop Accra which also had some beautiful bags and clothes and had a great selection of consignment vendors in the outdoor café area. We ate dinner at Chez Clarrise, an Ivorian Coast dinner place where I had an amazing dish of Chicken Yassa. Recommended by the waiter, who was from Ivory Coast, it was chicken cooked in a lot of caramelized onions, with rice on the side. So good!
So go my recommendations for visiting Accra. I know there is lots more to do - more great art galleries, a nice theatre, fun shops, good restaurants and music venues.
