Kente Cloth

crayola supplies

Overwriters® Markers
Pointed Tip Scissors
Giant Floor Pad

household supplies

clear adhesive tape

Why?

Instead of weaving over and under, draw under and over with Crayola® Overwriters! Bold and colorful textile patterns from Ghana look almost real with this amazing marker technology.

Steps

1. Kente cloth, traditionally made by the people of Ghana, is very beautiful and meaningful. It is made by weaving long strips that contain symbolic patterns. There is a pattern to illustrate joy, a pattern for royalty, a pattern for newborn babies—nearly every important event in a person’s life can be expressed in Kente cloth patterns. When several strips of fabric are woven, they are cut into even lengths, and then stitched together to create wide sheets of cloth. The fabric is used to create flowing garments.
2. To create your own replica Kente cloth drawings, begin by using Crayola Scissors to cut several long, narrow strips of paper.
3. Use Crayola Overwriters Color-Under Markers to color each strip a different color. Use Crayola Overwriters Color-Over Markers to add repeated patterns to your strips. Vary the colors and patterns you use on each strip. You could duplicate authentic patterns or create your own symbols.
4. Cut the long strips into several shorter sections. Tape them together on the back. Use a Color-Over Marker to create "stitches" that visually connect the strips to each other on the front of your drawing.

adaptations

Design your own symbols for important times in your life. Create Kente cloth strips that show these symbols. Explain the meaning of your Kente cloth in prose or poetry.

Identify other cultures in which weaving is central to the heritage of the people. What raw materials are used for the fabric? What dyes are used? What similarities can you identify in traditional designs?

Write a story about authentic symbols shown on your Kente cloth. What do the symbols mean? When would the garment be worn? By whom? Imagine a day in the life of that person.

benefits

Children study the colors, patterns, and meanings of the symbols used in Kente cloth, a traditional form of weaving from Ghana.

Children create a replica drawing of Kente cloth.

grades

Grades 1 to 3
Grades 4 to 6
Grades 7 to 12

subjects

Social Studies
Visual Arts

time

Less than 1/2 hour
30 to 60 minutes

curriculum standards links

US: Research U.S. Standards
UK: Research UK Standards
Canada: Research Canada Standards

safety guidelines

Scissors—ATTENTION: The cutting edges of scissors are sharp and care should be taken whenever cutting or handling. Blunt-tip scissors should be used only by children 4 years and older. Pointed-tip scissors should be used only by children 6 years and older.