OUR COLUMNIST REVEALS HER TOP PATTERN PICKS FOR AFRICAN WAX PRINTS AND BEYOND Juliet Uzor
“Ankara Appreciation Week is such a great opportunity for sewists to celebrate and explore the use of African wax fabrics in creative and innovative ways”
Every once in a while, I get started on a sewing project and along the way, something puts a spanner in the works and drives the project to a halt. It’s really interesting because the cause of the halt could range from something as minute as insufficient sewing supplies on a good day all the way to a silly sewing error on a bad day. But when the reason behind me putting my projects on hold had to do with writing the latest Sewing Bee book, I was more than happy to put them to one side.
I felt slightly guilty stashing away my other makes, but I had so much fun working through the pattern and fabric selection process for my book. Especially after I had recovered from the pressures of dealing with the various deadlines. During the pattern selection process, I opted for five different sewing designs that were already in my stash. I made sure they were all well suited to Ankara Fabrics, as I had missed out on creating lovely Ankara pieces during last year’s Ankara Appreciation Week which I organised alongside the wonderful sewing blogger Lena King.
Fast forward to summer, I dug back into my stash and picked up right where I left off, just in time for Ankara Appreciation Week in mid-July. This annual online sewing event is such a great opportunity for sewists to celebrate and explore the use of African wax fabrics in creative and innovative ways. We have also been known to spend the appreciation week calling attention to talented stitchers, giving away exciting sewing treats, and highlighting physical or online stores. Its members also take time out during the week to share their stories about the use of vibrant, colourful materials using the hashtag #sewankarafabric.
This summer event reminded me of the five sewing patterns that I had previously selected for my African Wax Fabric creations. The Bloomsbury Blouse by Nina Lee London, the Florence Dress by Emporia Sewing Patterns, the I AM Irma by the I AM Pattern company, the Anthea Puffled Sleeve Blouse by Anna Allen Sewing Patterns and the Belemnite Dress by Marilla Walker.
NINA LEE LONDON
The Bloomsbury Blouse is advertised as a high-necked Edwardian inspired blouse with bold wide ruffles across the bust area. I had my reservations about how it would look on my full chest, but I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful the ruffles sat. This sewing pattern features a high collar, but I tweaked
