Welcome 2021
Online shopping open
New products online now
More new stuff coming soon
Scroll down for details...
New
Special Collection batiks
Handpainted and hand-dyed
in Ghana and The Gambia
100% cotton damask fabrics
Perfect for dressmaking
New
Limited Edition selections
Colourful and inspiring...
... perfect gifts for creative stitchers
Hand-dyed and handprinted...
... handpicked by Magie and Jenny
African Home Decor
Designed and created
by Jenny Hall
Add some African design,
colour and sunshine to
your home
Vintage textile fragments
Tattered, torn and tactile
Old and worn
Salvaged and distressed
Found on our travels
in West Africa
Welcome to the African Fabric Shop
Magie Relph & Bob Irwin
To boldly go where TripAdvisor doesn't
Textiles and fabrics
from across Africa
African beads
Recycled glass, brass, plastic and paper
Shell, bone, clay and stone
Genuine Bolga baskets
Quality baskets - fairly traded
Handmade by the weavers of
the Baba Tree Basket Company
in Bolgatanga, Ghana
Vintage & collectable African textiles
The textile treasures we couldn't resist on our travels
Inspiration
Talks to textile groups
Quilt, bag and jewellery kits
Sign up for our e-newsletter
Books
about African textiles
Current shopping and delivery info
4 Jan 2021: We're back to work - socially distanced, of course.
Jenny's in the shop packing and posting your orders as quickly as she can. Please remember, though: postal and courier services are still handling huge volumes of packages, including a post-Christmas backlog - all while coping with the effects of COVID on their people and ways of working.
Please be patient. We send packages by the method you choose when you place your order. If you have special requirements, please email us for a quote.
Meanwhile, Magie and Bob are working from home on new products, website updates and - until we can travel again - keeping the supply lines open with our makers and friends all across Africa.
Current shopping info
- Online shopping only. Shop closed to visitors until further notice. More...
Featured Items
Kudhinda screenprints: just arrived from Zimbabwe
Replenishing our fabric stocks has been a real challenge in the year of COVID.
So we're jumping with joy with the arrival - at last! - or our shipment of Kudhinda fabrics.
Kudhinda fabrics are designed by Ros Byrne and produced by her expert team of printers in her Harare studio.
Kudhinda is Shona for 'press, stamp or print'. Kudhinda fabrics reflect the strength, colour and pattern of southern African design. Kudhinda is committed to fair trade principles.
All fabrics are 100% sheeting weight cotton, suitable for crafts and upholstery. Weight: 260 grams per metre, approximately.
View and buy: Kudhinda Zimbabwe screenprints
Check out our popular Kudhinda Zig Zag bag kit, available in three stunning colourways.
Left: NEW mud cloths: plenty to choose from
Go for a detailed black/white design. Or a mixed mud cloth: terracotta, ochre and black painted onto white. The choice is yours.
Mud cloth is made only in Mali by both the Bamana and Dogon people.
Narrow strips of handwoven cotton are stitched together into a whole cloth, then painted with patterns and symbols using a variety of natural dyes, including river mud that has been aged up to one year. As these cloths are handwoven, the thickness and weight are variable, but generally they are similar to a light blanket.
Most mud cloths measure about 100 x 170 cm / 40 x 66 inches.
View and buy: Genuine Mud Cloth from Mali
Right now we have plenty in stock. But becasue they are so hard to get, they usually sell quite quickly.
Also new: Magie has cut down some full-size cloths into smaller pieces - perfect for making a cushion cover or similar furnishing application. Here's a beautiful example: WMU559 Mud Cloth Piece
Clockwise from top left: Niafunke Turquoise Orange furnishing fabric | Dogon Valley Cushion Cover by Jenny Hall | Koro furnishing fabric | Green Dream Lampshade by Jenny HallNEW African furnishing fabrics & African home decor by Jenny Hall
Jenny's background and passion for design has taken us in some exciting new directions lately.
We've really sharpened our focus on African home decor.
Our latest shipment from Ghana is unpacked and on the website NOW.
View and buy: our latest African furnishing fabrics
And just in time for Christmas, check out Jenny's creations on our new African home decor page