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Veritable Real Wax Fabric
I just bought at the thrift store a skirt that someone made. The selvage was still on and it says "Veritable Real Wax". It is a batik like fabric and is a beautiful quality. I did a quick google search and see that it is an African batik. Is this something that is available in quilt shops?
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I've never heard of it. I found these:
http://bestafricanfabrics.com/produc...veritable-wax/ https://www.etsy.com/market/veritable_wax Learn something new every day... K |
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I have made two different quilts in the past 2 years from these African fabrics which a couple of sweet young teachers brought home from misson stays in Sierra Leone. They bought the fabrics for the equivalent of about $2 a yard they told me. Each lady brought me 14 individual prints.
Some of the pieces had information printed on the selvage that they were Dutch made. Not all of them were 100% cotton, and those pieces I had to fuse to featherweight interfacing to stabilize enough for the quilts. Those that were cotton were decent quality and enjoyable to work with. I hope to have some photos soon. Jan in VA |
I had never heard of that batik before. Most batiks have no selvage edge so it is hard to remember who was the manufacture on batiks I have bought.
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I spotted some beautiful African cottons in a store in Victoria Park, Western Australia. The store has been there for a long time, but I only just got around to visiting it. It was a veritable emporium of fabrics from all over....along with a lot of trims, curtaining and Indian clothing.....could have spent hours (it's huge and a bit of an Aladdin's cave). The African cottons seemed of an excellent quality and there were some particularly nice blue and white designs....I shall return (but I am on the moratorium again this year).
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There is a company in the Netherlands (Vlisco) that manufactures those prints. They are meant for the African community there, but they also export their fabrics. And you can order them online too. Unfortunately you have to buy a "coupon" which is 5 meters. Lots of fabric! AND it's not cheap. If you are interested I could send some you way (don't worry about postage, it' not outrageous). And if you find yourself in Paris one of these days, there is a shop there that caters to the large African community there. I have some of their fabrics too - and I share.
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I have seen a lot of this fabric over the years. Remember the Afro style clothing in the 70's? Some of the Dutch wax prints were made with a design where you cut the hole for the neck and finished the edge to make a caftan type garment.
Our mission team from church goes to Bufuula, Africa once/year and usually brings back some of the 5 meter pieces of Dutch wax cloth, which is purchased in one of the larger cities. A friend and I have used the fabric to make items for our local mission fundraiser. The first piece we got was made into a quilt -- no fading, no shrinkage. The next year we got 2 sets of yardage. Both bled quite a bit, and one of them would not respond to "Retayne" successfully. We made some pillowcases from the yardage that didn't feel coarse and hotpads from the rest. Last year we got an unusual border print - no bleeding. The print was so unusual that the only thing we could think of to make from it was bedrunners. They turned out beautiful. I see Dutch wax cloth at estate sales from time to time and enjoy the patterns. One unusual thing about some of the pieces we have gotten that were actually purchased in Africa is that some of them have large stickers (about 5" x 5") that give a company in China as the marketer. Who knows the route that fabric takes?? The stickers are almost impossible to get off the fabric. I can just say that I would highly recommend pre-washing this fabric, and I wish I could personally judge the "hand" of it before acquiring it. |
Thank you ladies for your input.
Jan and Daylesewblessed - I can see from your posts that there are different manufacturers and the feel and quality of the fabrics would different for each. Kiffie - Thanks for the links Tirolgirl -- You are just the sweetest for offering to send some fabric, but I have so much fabric in my stash already, I was simply wondering about this particular line of fabric as the quality of this one was really very nice. So thank you, your offer reminded of the kindest of quilters. |
You can buy veritable wax prints online at Ebay and from the premier Dutch producer Vlisco. I have lots of these fabrics and they are all 100% cottons.
Below are some of the shops I purchase from: AKN Fabrics Unique Spool One World Fabrics The Quilted Fox Ebay of course. |
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