Arts and Crafts

Good News Theological College and Seminary

The Asante people who live in Ghana do a special type of printing on fabric called adinkra stamping.

Geometric shapes are repeated to create patterns on fabric. Each shape has its own special meaning, which would tell something about the person wearing the fabric. Traditionally, this fabric was worn only for funerals (adinkra means good-bye), but now it is used for everyday clothes, as well as curtains or pillows.

Adinkra designs are stamped inside squares drawn on fabric. The stamp blocks are cut from dried calabashes, but you can cut your from a potato or sponge. designs are stamped inside squares drawn on fabric. The stamp blocks are cut from dried calabashes, but you can cut your from a potato or sponge.

Materials needed:

Potato or sponge for making stamps
Ink or fabric paint
Squares of muslin
Knife for cutting potato
Scissors to cut sponge
Foam meat trays

Depending on the time and who will be doing this project, you may wish to have the stamps already made. Using the patterns below, cut stamps to represent the meanings you wish to show.

For potato stamp, cut potato in half crosswise, cut away potato to leave pattern sticking out.

Put some fabric paint into a meat tray, and dip stamp into tray. Press carefully onto fabric square. Make a pattern, either using the same stamp or rotating stamps, to fill the fabric square.

When dry, the square can be hung on a wall, or used to cover a notebook, or hemmed and used on a table.