Africa project: A Swahili quilt

The letters appliquéd on this little quilt read thamani mtoto, a Swahili phrase that means “precious baby.” 

Step-by-step instructions : 

Materials:
You will need two pieces 48” square (1.25 M) of lightweight cotton, and scraps at least 4” x 4” (10 cm), or 1/3-½ yards (30-40 cm) of contrasting fabric to make the letters.

The quilt shown here is made of African themed fabric.  You can use any brightly-colored scraps of your own.

Directions:
1. After you choose your Swahili words, print out the letter templates you need. Cut around them and lay them out to estimate how much they need to grow or shrink to fit on the large square area. Leave a margin of at least 3” (7.5 cm) around the edges.

2. Enlarge or shrink the letter templates (adjust the seam allowances if necessary) and pin them to the contrasting fabric scraps. Cut them out. Iron the seam allowances under and trim any excess. While you’re at it, iron the wrinkles out of the large background pieces.

3. Pin the letters into position on the background. Attach them with zig-zag machine stitching or hand sew them firmly to the background.

4. Sew the back and front of the quilt together inside out. Iron the seam on the right side. Stuff with batting.

5. Anchor the batting with at least nine single stitches.

6. Quilt the front to the back if desired. In this blanket, I left room to personalize the quilt with the baby’s name.

 http://crafternews.crownpublishing.com/2011/09/13/quilt-giveaway-and-instructions-from-margaret-shepherd-author-of-learn-world-calligraphy/

Templates for the alphabet itself are at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/64189517/Virtual-Swahili-Alphabet-Template-From-Margaret-Shepherd-author-of-Learn-World-Calligraphy  

If you do make a quilt with African-themed letters, send me a photograph.  I'll post it here, and I'll send you a copy of my book with a practice pen. 

Check out African motifs in Learn World Calligraphy.

Africa alphabet: Readability plus with African flavor

The ABC’s are used creatively throughout Africa.  They form the Swahili words that unite nations along the eastern coast, they transliterate dozens of local African languages, and they communicate in English or French.  By modifying the Roman letter shapes, written words can express African art through bold colors, improvised forms, and strong symbols.  

Using the letters below, you can assemble paper collages, appliqué initials, piece quilts, stitch names, and design many other projects that combine Roman readability with authentic African visual flavor.  

http://www.scribd.com/doc/64189517/Virtual-Swahili-Alphabet-Template-From-Margaret-Shepherd-author-of-Learn-World-Calligraphy 

Useful Swahili words that form the basis of special occasions: 

“hongera,” congratulations 

“ujinga” wisdom

“amandla” we shall overcome 

“furaha” joy 

“nakupenda” I love you 

“oxolu” peace  

“ndio” yes

“chakula ni maisha”food is life

“kupika” the cook 

“pamoja” together 

Africa alphabet: Three approaches

While Africa offers us many interesting systems for recording the sound or the meaning of words, you can use what you've learned to invent your own "Virtual African" alphabet styles.  
Shown here, three easy techniques: 

• Reshape Bamum* letters to look like alphabet letters; 
• Decorate alphabet letters with Adinkra, Bantu, and Nsibidi symbols, colors, and motifs; 
• render the letters in typical African materials.  

And, of course, translate your own language into swahili words as shown here in the illustrations and borders, as here, where "welcome" becomes "KARIBU.".  

Above, This chapter opener from Learn World Calligraphy shows how to add African visual flavor to the ABCs.

*Left: Bamum mixed with the alphabet.  See original letters on page 24 Learn World Calligraphy or go to http://www.pinterest.com/pin/278941770644520572/  

Africa 3: Nsibidi

Nsibidi symbols sum up whole stories or abstract ideas.  Their form is expressed most often in woven fibers.  

The wall-sized mat from Cameroon, left, is tightly woven of banana or plantain fiber with darker stitching.  

Image from Peabody Museum, Harvard 

University.  Photographer Mark Craig.  

Africa 2. Adinkra

Border design from the African chapter in  Learn World Calligraphy, by Margaret Shepherd.  

Adinkra is a symbol system (rather than an alphabet) that represents culturally important ideas with simple designs (above and left).  They are traditionally stamped onto hand-woven cloth. 


These printing blocks are usually carved from the calabash gourd, right.  

In a modern reinterpretation of this traditional craft, these Adinkra symbols were carved into flat beach sand by Andrew van der Merwe.   

Africa 1. Bamum writing

From page 12, Learn World Calligraphy, by Margaret Shepherd.  The African chapter includes history, master alphabets, guidelines, and design ideas.  

The symbols in this phonetic syllabary were created in Cameroon over a century ago by a panel of artists and thinkers.  Inspired by dream that came to King Njoya, this unique and sophisticated alphabet for the Bamum language became a symbol of national pride.  Accordingly, French colonial policies sought to suppress it.  

Recently a group of academics, historians, and scribes have been reviving its use.