Are you on your way to a prom or a wedding, whether traditional or “white”? Are you looking for something African and unique? Something that will portray where you are from and how proud you are to be from there? Or, you just want something that will make you rock a girls night out? Then, how about you choose what you want, and by that I mean, you imagine, and design what you want to wear. Yes, design. I hope that did not scare you because honestly, there is nothing to be scared about when it comes to designing your own outfits, because guess what, you will be wearing them. This is not the blow my trumpet, but when I decided to design my own prom dress as well as my date’s outfit, I had no idea we were going to win best dressed couple. I just knew that if we must look good for prom, it has to be something that I designed. So go head, it is okay if it your first time because there I always a first time for everything. If you do not know how don’t worry. Start by sketching out a basic idea of the design and if you get stuck somewhere, it perfectly fine to seek advice from your seamstress or tailor. Or see what I will be posting on here. LET GET CRAZY CRAFTY AND CREATIVE!!!!!
Bow and Matching Earring
I had just come back from classes and my roommate was at work so I was really bored. I started thinking about what to post when it crossed my mind that I never used the hair clips I had bought earlier from Walmart (FYI, they are a lot cheaper in Walmart than Michaels). They were meant for making bows. So, since I had no urge to do homework, I decided to be productive and make some hair bows. I have never made bows before so the thought of it was quite fascinating and scary at the same time. This is not to say that I do not believe in artistic skills; I just get really nervous and anxious when I am trying to make something for the first- usually things that have not seen someone make before. With prior knowledge in how to crotchet bows for hats, I boldly began to put my artistic skills to work. The outcome was quite impressed, so, I made a pair of earrings to go with it. It looked super pretty, especially on my model Julie.
Before and After Photos of My Flats
These is a before and after collage of my “old-new” pair of flats. it can be noticed that the original flats have bows on them. However, because, it was a lot difficult to cover the bow than I imagined earlier, I thought that it would be better for me and the shoe to get rid of the bow. When the need arises for any part of the footwear to be cut while covering it with a cloth, it is much better to remove that particular part before actually beginning the process of covering the entire shoe. Also it is better to cut a bigger piece of that part with a pair of scissors, then trim the remaining visible parts with an X-axto knife. Be very cautious to avoid cutting part of the shoe that you actually want to remain.
How To Redesign Old Flats
One of the most popular Ankara designs is with shoes/flats. Now this does not mean you actually make a pair of shoe yourself. That would be so cool. However, this means that you cover an old or an “ugly” looking shoes/flats with a fabric to give them a new, artistic, chic, or African look. I did this to my old pair of flats, and you can do same too. Here is how:
Things Needed:
- Desired piece of cloth
- Glue (Preferably E6000. It is water resistant)
- Mod Podge
- Skinny Scissors
- And? or Exacto knife
- AN OLD PAIR OF SHOEs/FLATS
Step 1: Align cloth to the shoe. First, one the sides, the front and the back.
Step 2: Cut out the measurements of the sides about an inch more than what they exactly are.
Step 3: Apply glue (E6000) to the shoe and glue the appropriate cut-outs to the parts they are supposed to go.
Step 4: Wait for about 10 minutes to dry, then smear mod podge on the entire shoe. Let it sit until completely dry. The mod podge makes the shoe look less fabricy (I this is not a real word. I made it up).
Repeat steps 1, 2, 3, and 4 for the other pair, and you are ready to rock your new flats.
One of the major hassles of making ankara artifacts is finding the right tools and artistic African fabrics of one’s choice. If you are thinking that materials for making Ankara artifacts are special, unique and expensive from other materials, you are thinking far above and beyond. Ankara artifacts are indeed very unique, however, the tools and materials for making them can be found in ANY fabric and arts and craft stores. Did that surprise you? So, if you want to start making your own ankara artifacts, start by visiting Joann Fabrics and Michaels to see a wide range of fabric and materials you can use to make and accessorize your Ankara. Also, you would want to visit WalMart stores also to compare prices. It is always good to explore stores for the cheapest prices.
HOW TO MAKE ANKARA EARINGS USING TISSUE PAPER
*Use any hard material that can be cut. Eg, tissue paper
Things needed
Tissue paper
Scissors
Glue: Elmer’s glue, and any water resistant/adhesive glue, eg. E6000
Earring hooks and rings (2)
African Fabric
1. Fold tissue paper to reasonable/ desired size and glue together.
2. Wet lightly and leave overnight to dry.
3. Cut out four pieces of fabric, about an inch more than the size of the hardened tissue.
4. Smear adhesive glue on one section of side of the hardened tissue and glue one piece of fabric to it; do the same for the other side making sure to glue together the two pieces of fabrics.
5. Repeat the same procedure the other one, then leave to dry for about 10 minutes
6. Cut out excess fabric (About 1 centimeter away from the actual hard material).
7. Poke a hole about 2 to 3 centimeters away from the edge.
8. Widen rings with a plier and insert into the holes
9. Insert hooks.
Now you are ready to rock your own Ankara earrings.
Ankara Earrings by Tees’ designs
Ankara earrings(Earrings covered in African prints) are one of the many artifacts that have gradually become extremely popular. I always get fascinated when I see my Ghanaian friend with a pair on. I therefore went on YouTube to find videos on how people made their earrings, and the videos I saw were amazing. While others showed how to make hanging earrings, most of them showed how o make post earrings. This is a vedio of a range of Ankara earrings I found on YouTube. I totally enjoyed watching it (and the music). I hope you enjoy it too.
I was thinking about how cool it would be to use more than two materials to make one attire when my friend in Gha
na sent me a photo of her at church. I fell in love with it instantly. It is a one piece dress made of two different fabrics. I am not very sure what the fabric of the top part is but the rest of the dress (from the baste to the bottom) is made with five different African fabrics. She accessorized it with a bangle covered with a cloth, which I believe is one of the cloths used for the dress. She then finished it off with a large red belt. This is one of the most artistic dresses I have ever seen. It is definitely worth eyeing.
About Me
Me, myself and I:
I was born in the Central Region of Ghana, in West Africa. My name Patience was given to me by my grandmother. I think she was completely wrong about this name because I have absolutely no patience. Hopefully I will grow out of my impatience, with some creativity since art cannot be rushed. However it is not for the purpose of my impatience that I chose to do this. Maybe I chose to do this because I am so competitive and I want to be the best at everything. I have always wanted things to look the way I want them to look. I wanted my clothes to be sewn differently- my own way and design.
Why I chose this:
Upon my arrival to the United States, I noticed that so many people lacked knowledge about the beauty of African; it’s culture, fashion, language, and many more. So I asked, why not do something that will help people to know more about my country at least in one aspect. So I chose fashion since I like to make things with my hands. I think I made a good choice by choosing the fashion aspect because usually, when people who are ignorant about Africa think about Africans, the first thing that comes into their mind is people with no clothes; a people with no sense of fashion.
What I hope to achieve:
What I therefore hope to achieve is to change this mentality by helping them to see how fashionable the African culture is. Hopefully this will help change the stereotypical thoughts and ideas that some people have about Ghana and Africa in general.
Ghana Get Crafty 