Fabrics & Dyes
Exhibition Trailer 1 minute 17 seconds
Uncovering Nigerian-Made Fabrics
Documentary Web Series ****Follow us on a road trip as we discover the different types of fabrics made across the country. 6 Episodes (5 - 9 mins each)
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjUrukDHmtFTVOLmsjQJDlYVWy6x2jVxu&feature=shared
“Our relationship with fibres and fabrics is intimate and all encompassing; we are surrounded by, sleep in, and are clothed by them. Historically textiles have been valued not only for their practical aesthetic properties, but also as incredibly powerful cultural indicators.” - Fabric For Fashion, Hallett & Johnston.
Fabric transformed our lives. It’s what ignited the industrialisation revolution. It’s one of the reasons for the African slave trade. It wasn’t guns and bullets that were the primary goods we traded with to ship Africans to the Americas; it was fabric. There was a route called the silk road, which ran from China to Europe; the name derived from the trading of silk.
“The importance of dress has been so elevated that Yorubas laughingly say, ‘We have always been born clothed” Abiodun et all. - Unexpected Luxury, McKinney & Eicher.
Today, fabric still plays an important role. What we wear matters and knowing what it is and why it is the way it is vital to understanding who we are. If there’s anything that unites us as Nigerians, is our connection to the different fabrics we have and how it’s a reflection of our almost lost history.
A loom is an apparatus used to weave fabric. There are two basic forms of looms, the vertical and horizontal looms. All looms are a variation of the two. The horizontal looms are more technologically advanced than the vertical ones and seem to be more prevalent.
There’s the Warp-Weighted loom (vertical loom) used by the south-east and south-west of Nigeria. It is the most basic form of loom we have. Although this loom is the slowest and most archaic in making fabric, it is used to make the most intricate handwoven patterns we've discovered in the country.
The Handloom (horizontal loom) is the most common loom we have. It is used by the north and the south-west mostly, but can be found anywhere in the country. It is the fastest non-mechanised loom we have, and they come in various types.
The Pit loom (horizontal loom) we have is not indigenous to Nigeria. It was imported from India a few years ago. It is the most technological advanced non-mechanised loom we have because of its flying shuttle. A shuttle is a tool used to get the weft (the horizontal yarn) across the warp (the vertical pre-stretched yarn) to create the fabric.