To celebrate Black History Month this year with JoAnn fabrics I decided to do a fun project and include my kids. We love wearing stylish sweatshirts, from mixing prints to fun designs, we even enjoy jazzing them up a bit with embellishments. I wanted to do something that I and the kids could wear to celebrate Black History Month but also wear 365 days of the year.
Having roots from Ghana, West Africa I have always been surrounded by African Wax Print, Dutch Wax Print, Woven Kente and Ghanaian textiles. I truly love the vibrancy and rich history of the fabrics and cultural symbolism behind each design and weave.
I remember when I was a child growing up in the Bronx, NY and putting on showcases for Black History Month. We would go to the local market in Harlem to find African printed fabric. You couldn’t find them at your local fabric stores. My mom would purchase fabric from Ghana and bring it back or you would have to wait till someone traveled back home to Ghana for the latest prints.
Fast forward to now and there are many vendors, brick and mortar stores, even online stores on social media that sell the fabric. The popularity of the prints and culture have hit mainstream, however there is still a long way to go.
Last year JoAnn Fabrics introduced their Black History Month fabric collection featuring designs by Black creators. JoAnn’s goal is to showcase the importance of Black History Month and provide visibility to Black creators, as well as showcase their diverse fabric assortment. I was thrilled to see the various fabrics they had which sold out instantly. Proving the need, the interest and the void that has been missing for years.
I am proud to partner with JoAnn fabrics to continue to support Black Makers and making a mark in history. Here is the link to all their Black History Month and African Pride Fabric: JOANN.com/onetogether.
So, let’s get into what I made.
I went to my local JoAnn’s and picked up some sweatshirts, fabric and some vinyl and got to work.
I love using my Cricut and as someone who does graphic design, I put my design skills to work. I have always loved creating and sketching faces and decided to do something fun to not only highlight the fabric but also show some creativity.
One of the fabrics I selected had faces with headwraps on them.
The fabric is cotton and very easy to sew with.
Here are some quick instructions on how to make this project.
Girl with Headwrap
- Design the face and hair ( I used publisher but you can use any design software)
- Turn the image to a vector file. (I suggest after you make it in color to turn it black and white and save each section individually. For example the hair, eyes, lips, etc. You can also do this in design studio of Cricut by using the erase feature of the areas you do not need)
- Cut your design via any method you decide. (I used my Cricut)
- Determine where you want the placement of the fabric (I chose to do a bow and headtie)
- Arrange the headpiece and pin in place
- Stitch in place
Africa
- Print and cut out Africa template
- Attach heating bond to fabric
- Cut out fabric and attached bond in the shape of template
- Heat Press or iron in place
Here are some quick videos.
I would love to learn how you celebrate Black History Month with your family. Will you be buying some of the fabric to support these amazing Black Creatives?
Happy Black History Month
Here’s a link to the all Black History Month products at JoAnn Stores.