Hello Lovelies, welcome back to my blog and welcome to September. I’m looking forward to the start of spring here in the Southern Hemisphere, this winter seemed longer than usual. This September, I am doing a mini series on South African cultures and fabrics in celebration of Heritage Month. 24th of September is Heritage Day and a national public holiday here, the day celebrates the extensive cultural diversity we have in our country. There are 11 official languages in South Africa, which makes for a colourful and diverse society. Today I’m paying homage to the Nguni tribes. Nguni tribes are Zulu, Ndebele, Xhosa and Swati, and our languages are are easily identified by the high usage of clicking phonemes. Nguni tribes still today are highly involved in cattle husbandry and cattle signify wealth. Nguni comes from the cattle type that these tribes breed. They are also known for their extensive geometric beadwork, this beadwork is seen in many accessories and clothing that they wear.

• 

• 

• 

The Fabric

This is Ankara Fabric with the Nguni print on it, a South African designer designed this print to celebrate her Zulu/nguni culture in her personal brand. The print got so popular that it has been reprinted in all sorts of fabrics such as Ankara, Polycotton , satins, chiffons and other Polyester variations. I chose to use Ankara for my dress, this fabric reminds me a lot of the Ndebele painted houses and Zulu beads love letters.

The Pattern

I used the bodice of Seamwork Amber pattern, this is the third time me using this bodice and consider it a tired and true pattern for me. It has side bust darts with medium straps, I cut and size 14 and decided to change the straps to ties. I wanted a playful dress that is summer ready, I drafted the circle skirt using my waist measurements. My measurements by the way is Bust: 107cm, Waist: 90cm and Hip: 120. The dress is very quick and easy to sew and would recommend it to any beginner.

The dress

This is such a fun little dress and I’m so happy to explore and celebrate more of my heritage and the pride I have in being South African. I love the diversity we have in this country, when I travel, what I miss most is hearing my language spoken in public spaces. Yes, I am proud of our abundance of clicking phonemes. I hope you enjoy this mini series as I share some of our cultures. Blessings lovelies ❤️

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•