wool

Madam Adwoa shares her mother's teachings with the extraordinary design of this kente cloth. The cotton blend fabric is woven on a traditional loom in blue, red, yellow, black, white, and green. Each strip of kente cloth requires considerable effort, and the looms are worked with both hands and feet. Madam Adwoa calls her design "Makomaso Adeae," which in Akan means "My Heart's Desire."

Meaning "basket", kente features interwoven strips of cloth, and was once reserved for the sole use of kings. It is a textile tradition of the Akan people, who convey meaning and symbolism to each kente cloth. Green is associated with fertility and new harvest, yellow with royalty, and black with strength, aging and spirituality. White is associated with purity, red with politics and spirituality, and blue is used in a variety of ways to symbolize spiritual sanctity, fortune, peacefulness and love.

Golden highlights add a regal touch to this superlative textile by the Gobah-Tengey family. Created in rich kente cloth strips, its name means "Conference in Angola." Takpekpe was designed in 1950 by the late Atsu Gobah Tengey-Seddoh to commemorate a special meeting called by the colonial governor to discuss an additional tax or levy being imposed on the subjects. The conference raised voices against the payment of the special levy.

Expert weavers, the Gobah Tengey-Seddoh Family creates this outstanding shawl in 100% cotton. Each strip requires considerable effort, and the looms are worked with both hands and feet. Strips are generally three to four inches wide and seven to ten feet long, and the length of time it takes to complete one strip varies by the complexity of the chosen pattern. The simplest use mostly vertical, or warp patterns, and an experienced weaver can make several of those in one day. But patterns with nearly all weft (horizontal thread) patterns where the warp design is hardly visible can take up to four days to complete an individual strip. Each color has its own meanings in Asante culture. Green is fertility and new harvest, gold is royalty, black is strength, aging, and spirituality, while white is purity. The patterns themselves are carefully chosen symbols, which a master weaver develops and names, often to honor people, historical events, or proverbs.

Hand wash in cool water and use a warm iron.

The intricate texture in this handsome kente cloth shawl is inspired by beach pebbles. Designed by a fisherman around 1898, its name means "pebbles of the shore are hard to crack." The tiny blocks of pattern represent the thoughts of that ancestral craftsman. Handcrafted by the Gobah Tengey-Seddoh Family, this extraordinary double weave textile is one of the most difficult patterns to achieve. These expert weavers use traditional looms and a cotton blend.

Each strip requires considerable effort, and the looms are worked with both hands and feet. Strips are generally three to four inches wide and seven to ten feet long, and the length of time it takes to complete one strip varies by the complexity of the chosen pattern. The simplest use mostly vertical, or warp patterns, and an experienced weaver can make several of those in one day. But patterns with nearly all weft (horizontal thread) patterns, where the warp design is hardly visible, can take up to four days to complete an individual strip. Each color has its own meanings in Asante culture. Green is fertility and new harvest, gold is royalty, black is strength, aging, and spirituality, while white is purity. The patterns themselves are carefully chosen symbols, which a master weaver develops and names, often to honor people, historical events, or proverbs.