Here is the video that brought up the controversies: How to Use African Fabrics for Quilting ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9SzHUftkWm8.html
Thanks for explaining this topic and I admire your research and sincere desire to be inclusive of all. Ooh, thanks for mentioning me!😊 Looking forward to the December sew-along ❤🎉
Wow! Lovely video! Thanks for posting it. I appreciate your thoughtful sharing about the many aspects of African fabrics. I was aware of some of it from friends who married Africans.
imho, "cultural appropriation" divides people. Using other cultures' fabrics, clothing, & other items is a high form of appreciation and admiration for that culture.
I agree, people shoudl be respectful of other people's cultures, I would consider it a compiment for cultures to use things from other cultures. People make WAY too big of a deal about EVERYTHING now. Makes everything really stressful. IMHO.
Shelina, I learn so much from your videos like this. I appreciate how respectful and inclusive you want to be. I looked for the link to where you bought the fabric but didn't see it in the description box. I was so impressed with the quilt you made, the gorgeous, vibrant fabrics in the video and your thoughtfulness and respectful demeanor in the original video. I will need to go back and look there for fabric source. I haven't sewn garments in years but would love a couple caftans made out of this type of vibrant colorful fabric to wear during the soon to arrive winter moody weather days. Your channel brings me joy and I love the mini vacations you take me on. 🤓 Looking forward to fifteen minutes of sewing with everyone in December. And...love your haircut. Have a wonderful day. Thanks for another great video!
Thank you! These fabrics are so vibrant and gorgeous, even with their history. I have added the fabric source to the description box. Thanks for your patience.
Awesome video! Can't wait for the 15-minute quilt challenge in December. One question, I didn't see the link so I can shop for fabric. Any help you can give me wud be appreciated. Thank u
Thank you for this very interesting video. There is so much to learn. I love the sentiment that the fabrics get along and it is symbolic of universal peace that can happen. It is a wonderful example of unity and diversity.
Thank you so much for this interesting video. I buy scraps of what I had previously referred to as African fabrics, and might now refer to as ‘African Fabrics’ from tailors in Africa that a friend brings back from trips there. I use them in bags, quilts and wall hangings. I use them because I love the colours and I try not to waste any material. I also use old tablecloths, old curtains and old clothing - often my husband’s shirts that have gone through at the cuffs and beyond repair jeans. I do it partly to keep costs down and partly to reduce the carbon footprint of the textile industry by preventing cotton, and cotton type fabrics going into landfill.
Well done video. I sew garments. I was worried about cultural appropriation, but feel that I have been encouraged to use Ankara, as long as I'm not using something that has a traditional meaning. Several of the black sewists on social media host events like Ankara month or challenges where you make something designed by black designers. They want their art to be successful and appreciated, which means seeking a wider audience. FYI, my go to for Ankara is House of Mami Wata. I stay away from Kente cloth because that does feel like cultural appropriation. African-American owned fabric stores are rare. In the last few years, we've lost the beautiful store, Melanated Fabrics. So yes, let's send them some love! Respect.
I agree with Kente cloth. It does look like the cloth itself has special meaning. That looks like a great source, thank you for sharing that. They are in the U.S. I haven't seen these designs. Here's the link House of Mami Wata houseofmamiwata.com/collections/ankara-fabrics-2 I will add it to the video description too, so it doesn't get lost among the comments.
I think you are right on. Thanks for explaining , i love learning about different cultures . We are all so unique and everyone has their own talents that we can share with others. Peace on earth!!
That is great that you were able to get questions answered. The fabric is printed both in Holland and in Africa. Do you remember if the prices comparable to quilting cotton?
This was really informative. Thanks I also appreciate your honesty that you didn’t know what the working conditions were. I’m curious if the manufacturing information is on the selvage like some brands.
Thank you J! Most of them don't have any names on them. I don't research the brands of any of the other products I buy either, and they (including American ones) might also be guilty of wrongdoing without my knowledge.
@@shelina_virjee I haven’t either. When you brought it up, I realized that it wasn’t even on my radar. I think I’ll start looking up things before I buy new. I love my local quilt shop and shopping from a small business has been so nice. She’s talked about why she selects certain fabrics and she’s mindful of the artists/designers. That isn’t the luxury everyone has though. Thanks again for your insightful video
RU-vid recommended you today. So glad! Very interesting and informative. I love African fabrics but have never used any yet. So much to look forward to!
Every language carries a culture and a history with it. If the language is lost so is a part of the culture and history. That is a good reason to speak the language you grew up with. Your reasons to use a commonly used language makes perfect sense though. I just like the idea of retaining your language personally. The fabrics are gorgeous.
This is an excellent explanation 👍👍 The "issue" might be avoided by calling them "African print fabrics" instead of "African fabrics", but even then people will get upset since that's what people like to do on the internet. The irony is that the people who get upset about these kinds of things are often the same people whose concept of Africa is that it's one big West African country where everybody speaks Swahili and wears kente cloth. Your hesitance to use a name from one language - basically ignoring the existence of the others - is totally understandable.
Isn't it so beautiful? I have included the shop's link in the description box. It is relatively inexpensive, compared to quilting cotton. Maybe I will include it in the prize drawing for the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge.
Hi Shelina, ! am glad YT suggested your channel to me :-) I'd like to ask you about something: I am from Central Europe, in my country we are quite homogenous and similar to people from neighbour countries so the problem of appropriating does not occur here (yet?), like wearing African prints here would draw attention because they are so bright and pretty and different from "our" prints, but won't upset anyone, and I truly dont know where is the line... serious question: would a white woman wearing such prints be offensive to tribe whose traditional patterns were used? How about if I wanted to wear a caftan or jewellery? Or maybe there are some colours or symbols holy or cursed or reserved only for the royalty? I want to appreciate other cultures, not appropriate and until now I was sure people from other countries were happy I like their patterns and want to wear them back home :-(
Hi Martha, welcome! That is a great question. I think one of the problems is that there is no one person to ask, since the designs belong to the community usually, or if there is a designer, it is usually an anonymous one. All of the people I know (both Indian and African) who see people who are not a part of their culture wearing and using their designs smile and are pleased that the designs and culture are liked enough to emulate. So I think it would be just fine, but there may be certain things, like uniforms and symbols of religious meaning, which could be wrong to use. You shouldn't wear something like the Pope's robe, or a religious collar, for example. Hard to know which symbols are which, but I would hope that by the time they are fabric, if they are sold to the general public, they would be okay to use. I think the problem would be if you use them to make money and pass them off as your own. So if you follow copyright laws, I think it might be okay. That is why I don't want to give credit to the Dutch. They took the process from Indonesia and the designs from Africa, and while the fusion is new, it is using designs from Africa without giving them credit and most importantly profit.
@@shelina_virjee thank you so much! When abroad I try to buy things not in tourist shops but rather at 'local people shop there' places so I hope the cuts and patterns weren't offensive per se... on a side note: we adopted Halloween costume parties here and I DID dress up as a nun once ;-) No outrage caused, just first surprise then hilarity because one of my friends was dressed up as an escort and other was wearing a leopard print onesie complete with ears and tail so people stared into our uber quite a lot!
