In Summary
- A kitenge serves as an inexpensive, informal piece of clothing that is often decorated with a wide variety of colors, patterns and even political slogans.
- It consists of plain–woven of light-weight cotton fabric printed with fast colors and the prints are generally completely visible on both sides.
- Trends come and go, but the Kitenge keeps on.
Kenyan Kitenge are a Reflection of the Versatility of the Fabric
A kitenge serves as an inexpensive, informal piece of clothing that is often decorated with a wide variety of colors, patterns and even political slogans. The printing on the cloth is done by a traditional batik technique.
Despite its strong association with Kenyan identity, kitenge was originally imported from Holland.
It also originates from Indonesia, an island country with its own layered history of acculturation as well as cultural and linguistic amalgamation.
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It consists of plain–woven of light-weight cotton fabric printed with fast colors and the prints are generally completely visible on both sides.
It forms a continuous print lengthwise with a small top and bottom edging border lines.
It can also be referred to as Kitenge, Chitenge, and Dutch Wax or Ankara fabric. A ‘whole’ piece of kitenge fabric is 12 yards in length but can be purchased in ‘half’ pieces, 6 yards in length. The width of the fabric varies between different manufacturers; it is usually 45 to 48 inches.
Ankara’s authentic African wax print fabrics are made using 100% cotton grown in Africa. Cotton is a natural fiber that is completely biodegradable.
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African wax print fabric can either be washed by hand or a machine.
Kitenge /Ankara fabric at 1500 Kenyan shillings for 6 yards.
For fashion design, cotton, silk, wool and synthetic fibers are commonly used, making it a versatile fabric.
Crepe is usually named after the fibre it is made of, such as crepe silk or crepe chiffon. Crepe is a soft, pleasant, and easy-to-work-with fabric that is commonly used in suit and dressmaking.
Trends come and go, but the Kitenge keeps on
