The Mungo Mali Cloth is a vibrant new textile range that features woven patterns inspired by traditional West African strip-cloth. The story behind this cloth began five years ago when Master Weaver Stuart Holding embarked on a trip to Mali to learn about this ancient textile tradition.
In Mali weaving is generally done by men, using handlooms. These simple plain weave looms are made by the artisans themselves, carefully constructed from local materials. Long narrow strip panels are woven and then sewn together to form a wide cloth. One of the challenges these Malian weavers face is matching up the weft-wise patterns when the strips are sewn together. The weaver has to pay careful attention to the spacing of the various designs, often using a finger, hand or arms length to measure.
The cotton is grown and hand picked by village farmers. It is spun into yarn on simple homemade drop spindles by skilled woman. The yarn is then dyed in large clay pots. Blue yarns are dyed with real indigo that is heated over a flame.
This entire process is not separated from daily life in Mali. These skilled artisans often work outdoors, surrounded by the comings and goings of the village.
Stuart returned to Plettenberg Bay, inspired by the creative people, patterns, colours and techniques encountered on this trip. About a year ago he started to experiment with a new textile design, which draws inspiration from the geometric rows of patterns, and the weft faced weave construction of the unique West-African strip-cloths. The Mungo Mali Cloths are woven on Dornier Looms at the Mungo mill in Plettenberg Bay.
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