The ankara print is loved by many and worn by all, it speaks in it’s vibrant colours. When a lady walks in to a room wearing an ankara piece, she is noticed for her outfits speaks a language of culture.
Ankara fabrics also known as ‘African Prints’, ‘African Wax’, and Dutch Wax’.
It is primarily associated with Africa because of its tribal-like patterns and motif. It is also a very versatile fabric and many items can be made such as:
Shoes, bags, Jewleries and so on.
There are so many types of ankara in the market. I have had instances while shopping for ankara prints and i get confused thinking about the quality of the print. I have made my research and definitely can spot the difference in quality. I am here to make it easy for every ankara lover, while shopping for ankara you need to know what makes a good quality ankara.
▪An authentic ankara usually have deeper colors unlike fancy ankara prints which are a shade lighter. This is because Ankara prints are made through an Indonesian wax-resisit dyeing technique called BATIK. In this technique, methods are used to ‘resisit’ the dye from reaching all the cloth, thereby creating a pattern. The lack of divergence in colour intensity helps with the determination of the (front) right and (back) wrong side of the fabric.
▪Fancy Ankara prints are made from polyster while authentic ankara prints are made from 100% cotton fabric.
▪The fancy ankara prints always have the patterns clearlyon one side while the authentic prints have the same precise prints on both sides.
▪An authentic ankara print is always smoother, if it is coarse. It is most likely fake.
▪The easiest technique to spot a fancy/fake ankara is to dip it into water and squeeze. If the dye comes off, it is fake.
Also the Fabric Company/Producer always indicates The type of Fabric/Product and registration number is printed on the selvage of the fabric, to notify people of the quality and to protect the designs from imitators.
Same patterns does not mean same quality. If you want something good then you need to know the difference.