Fine Art / Visual Art · Lesson 14

Tie-dye, batik, adire, block and screen printing, appliqué, weaving

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: cotton or silk dyed (batik, tie and dye) or printed (block, screen), at least 2 m unsewn; appliqué; tapestry; Papers 1/2 tools, materials, terms (tie and dye). JAMB Section C 1(a) textile design; C 2 materials (fabric, dyes); Section B Nigerian crafts (cloth-weaving).

WAEC: cotton or silk dyed (batik, tie and dye) or printed (block, screen), at least 2 m unsewn; appliqué; tapestry; Papers 1/2 tools, materials, terms (tie and dye). JAMB Section C 1(a) textile design; C 2 materials (fabric, dyes); Section B Nigerian crafts (cloth-weaving).

NECO: cotton or silk dyed (batik, tie and dye) or printed (block, screen), at least 2 m unsewn; appliqué; tapestry; Papers 1/2 tools, materials, terms (tie and dye). JAMB Section C 1(a) textile design; C 2 materials (fabric, dyes); Section B Nigerian crafts (cloth-weaving).

What you will learn

Define textile design and state WAEC requirements.
Classify fibres and dyes; explain mordant, fastness, scouring.
Describe tie-dye, adire, batik, block and screen printing processes.
Explain the chemistry of indigo dyeing simply.
Describe appliqué, embroidery and tapestry.
Explain weaving terms and Nigerian weaving traditions.

Key points

WAEC textile piece: at least 2 m, unsewn.
Scour cotton; check fibre.
Dye classes: vat, direct, reactive, sulphur; natural dyes need mordants.
Tie-dye: tie tightly, wet, dye, rinse, untie, wash, dry in shade.
Adire: oniko, alabere, eleko, batani; Abeokuta, Ibadan.
Indigo: reduce, dip, oxidise in air, repeat.
Batik: paraffin + beeswax, tjanting, cold dye, dewax.
Block print: repeat types; adinkra.
Screen print: alternate repeats; fix by heat.
Weaving: warp, weft; aso-oke (men, strip loom); Akwete (women, upright loom).

Start here: Textile design: meaning and scope

Textile design is the planning and production of decorated fabrics, either by constructing the cloth with a pattern (weaving, knitting, crochet) or by decorating a plain cloth (dyeing, printing, painting, appliqué, embroidery).

WAEC requirements (Paper 3 Section B)

Textile design is one of the three Section B areas (two of the six questions). Candidates design a piece of cotton or silk material dyed in a pattern, as in batik or tie and dye, or printed, as in block or screen printing. The piece should be at least two metres long and unsewn. The section also covers appliqué (shaped fabric pieces sewn onto a foundation fabric) and tapestry (a woven pattern or picture used as a wall hanging or upholstery).

JAMB tests textile design as a two-dimensional art process, the materials (fabric, dyes), and Nigerian crafts such as cloth-weaving, and lists “textile designer” among art careers.

Fibres and fabrics

Natural fibres: cotton (plant; absorbent; best for most dyes used in school), silk (insect; smooth, lustrous), wool (animal), linen (flax), raffia and sisal (plant fibres for mats and bags).
Man-made fibres: viscose rayon (regenerated cellulose), polyester, nylon, acrylic. Polyester resists most dyes used for cotton, so check the fabric before dyeing.
Test: a burn test (with care) separates natural cellulose fibres (burn like paper, soft grey ash) from synthetics (melt into hard beads).

Preparing fabric

New cotton contains size (starch) and finishes that resist dye. Scour it: wash in hot water with detergent (and a little soda ash if available), rinse, and iron. This step is essential for even colour.

Textiles in Nigerian life

Cloth expresses status, identity and occasion: aso-oke for ceremonies, adire for everyday and fashion wear, Akwete for Igbo festivals, Ebira (Okene) woven cloth, Tiv anger (black-and-white striped) cloth, and aso-ebi uniforms at weddings. Adire production in Abeokuta and the hand-weaving centres of Iseyin and Akwete are important cottage industries.

Careers and business: textile designers work in mills and fashion houses; small-scale dyers produce adire and tie-dye for local markets; fashion designers combine hand-dyed fabrics with tailoring. Costing a wrapper (cloth, dye, chemicals, labour and a profit margin) is a practical business skill worth practising.

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Practice questions

1. Adire eleko uses a resist made of

cassava or maize starch paste
wax
raffia ties
zinc stencils only

Show answer

A: cassava or maize starch paste
Starch paste resist.

2. Adire oniko is made by

starch painting
stitching only
batik waxing
tying with raffia

Show answer

D: tying with raffia
Tied resist.

3. Adire alabere is made by

starch stencilling
waxing
stitching
tying

Show answer

C: stitching
Stitched resist.

4. The main traditional centre of adire production is

Iseyin
Abeokuta
Kano
Akwete

Show answer

B: Abeokuta
Ogun State.

5. In batik, the resist is

wax
starch
raffia
clay

Show answer

A: wax
Wax resists dye.

Key words

Scouring: Washing out size and finishes.
Resist: Barrier to dye.
Mordant: Fixes natural dye.
Fastness: Resistance to fading.
Liquor ratio: Cloth weight to bath volume.
Tritik: Stitch resist.
Adire: Yoruba indigo resist cloth.
Eleko: Starch-resist adire.
Lafun: Cassava flour.
Leuco-indigo: Reduced soluble indigo.
Batik: Wax-resist dyeing.
Tjanting: Wax pen with spout.

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