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How to Make a Homemade African Doll Wrap

African dolls traditionally are made of cloth and various types of rope or wood. The traditional African wrap is called a Kanga. Making a Kanga, or wrap, for your homemade African doll is an easy sewing project that yields authentic results. Choose a Kente print cotton fabric for your doll Kanga. Cotton wraps around the doll without much bulk, giving a realistic wrap to the garment. According to KangaUSA, "A kanga is a traditional African wrap that is used by men and women alike throughout East Africa. Kangas originated in East Africa back in the 19th century." You can make an African doll wrap in about 30 minutes.

Things You'll Need

Fabric--Kente print cotton
Measuring tape
Scissors
Straight pins
Sewing machine
Thread

Instructions

- 1
  Measure the width of the doll at the doll's widest point, usually the doll's shoulders. Multiply this measurement by four to find the width of the African Kanga (wrap).
- 2
  
  A Kanga is a traditional garment worn by men and women.
  
  Measure the length of the doll from the underarms to the ankle and add 2 inches to find the length of the African Kanga (wrap).
- 3
  Cut a fabric rectangle according to the width measurement in Step 1 and the length measurement in Step 2. Use authentic or replica Kente fabric to create your Kanga for a realistic African doll wrap. According to Kwadwo Boahene, "Kente is an Asante ceremonial cloth hand-woven on a horizontal treadle loom. Strips measuring about 4 inches wide are sewn together into larger pieces of cloths. Cloths come in various colors, sizes and designs and are worn during very important social and religious occasions."
- 4
  
  Kente is a ceremonial fabric.
  
  Fold the four edges of the fabric rectangle over ½ inch against the wrong side of the fabric. Fold the folded edge over another ½ inch to form a ½-inch hem. Pin.
- 5
  Sew, on the sewing machine, using a straight stitch and a ½-inch seam allowance, along the pinned edges to form a hemmed rectangle. Remove pins. If you can't find Kente cloth, try an animal or batik print cotton fabric. According to Kwadwo Boahene, "The term kente has its roots in the word kenten which means a basket. The first kente weavers used raffia fibers to weave cloths that looked like kenten (a basket); and thus were referred to as kenten ntoma; meaning basket cloth."
- 6
  
  Place the doll on top of the African wrap.
  
  Place the Kanga (African wrap) with the wrong side of the fabric facing you, on a flat surface such as a table. Place your doll on top of the wrong side of the fabric, placing the Kanga (African wrap) beneath the doll's arms.
- 7
  Fold the left top edge over the chest and under the doll's right underarm and hold. Fold the right top edge over the chest and under the doll's left underarm (or around the back if need be) and tuck the top right edge of the Kanga into the left edge by pushing the fabric under the hemmed edge.

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