Addis textiles

This is a recreated post, following my accidental deletion of the whole blog…

Today I went with Jacqui to see textiles in Addis. We started off by heading to the textile area on the road to Entoto, which is the mountain to the north of Addis.

In Addis, the shops are set out in an interesting way. Like shops seem to congregate with like shops. So if you need bathroomware, you go to the bathroomware area where there are a lot of that type of shop. If you want textiles, you go to the textile area, where there are a lot shops selling textiles.

We went into many small textile souks, with me observing lots of different styles of traditional and more modern dress. As well as clothing, there were also woven textiles used as tablecloths, bedcovers etc.

With Jacqui asking questions of the shop owners (thankfully she has some Amharic) I learnt a little of the different styles of dress from different regions. The traditional dress is mostly made of white fabric, some like cheesecloth, others a more heavy weave. It would depend partly on the skill of the weaver, I guess, but also partly on the climate of the region that the clothes come from.

I purchased a blouse in the Addis style, which has a large embroidered cross on the front, with borders of embroidery at the edges of the garment. It is in traditional Ethiopian colours: red, yellow and green – the colours of the Ethiopian flag. The stitches used are mostly chain stitch, with small amounts of cretan and buttonhole stitch.

Crosses are a common motif in Ethiopian embroidery and are based on the processional and ceremonial crosses that are used in the Ethiopian orthodox religion.

Following this, Jacqui took me to Sabahar, a wonderful silk shop over the other side of town. The business is run by a lovely Canadian woman who saw the possibility of incorporating newly introduced “wild” silk species with the traditions of Ethiopian weaving.

Ethiopia has a tradition of weaving that is not found in other eastern African countries. Indeed the oldest known example of tablet weaving is Ethiopian, and currently in a museum in Canada.

Sabahar creates woven homewares and personal accessories that are just absolutely gorgeous. They have recently been accredited for fair trade, and have built the business on fair principles of pay and conditions. The worms are raised by Ethiopians in rural areas, the silk is spun, dyed and woven by Addis locals. The dyes used are natural plant dyes, and create the most beautiful range of colours.

I could have spent all day at Sabahar, and all of my money. I only spent some of each, but I will have to go back!

In the afternoon Jacqui took me to Alert Leprosy Hospital. Here I saw some of the finest embroidery that I have seen in Ethiopia. Much of the embroidery for sale seems to be quite coarse, but the work done and for sale at Alert was of very high quality.

Once again, many designs were based on Ethiopian crosses, and I purchased a cushion cover that should go well with our lounge at home. It is worked entirely in chain stitch, using woollen yarn on a ground of heavy cotton fabric.

We were able to observe the artisans working at their crafts: weaving coir doormats, weaving fabric to be embroidered on, embroidering the designs, knitting clothing and spinning the cotton for weaving (by hand, on spindles!) The dexterity of these men and women, some of whom showed the visible evidence of their encounters with leprosy, was amazing.

I had a wonderful day exploring some of the textiles of Addis. Thanks Jacqui!