Fabrics of the World: Kente Cloth

The West African people have been weaving textiles for thousands of years. The Kente cloth which comes from modern day Ghana and is a living example of this age old handicraft tradition. The word "Kente" is a derivation of the local dialect word for "basket" as its motif resembles the weave pattern of baskets. Kente cloth was historically worn by kings and queens but is now worn by many locals to commemorate special occasions.

This creative design challenge is a fun printable activity to explore the rich traditional fabric weaving culture of the Ghanaian people.

Let's start learning!

Printable & Activity Objectives

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Age: 6 to 9 year olds, Activity Time: 1-2 hours, Items Needed: Colouring pencils

In this activity, your child have an opportunity to colour and design their own version of the Ghanaian "Kente" cloth and also learn more about the traditional textile weaving culture of the West African state.

It will help your child or student:

Learn about new cultures and interests outside of those they are familiar with.
Improve his/her artistic and creative skills by designing, colouring and adding different interpretation of the Kente cloth.

Let's start!

Classroom Resources

Simple steps to start:

Research and find out about more about Kente cloth. Here's a wonderful story which tells of the legend of how the colourful Kente cloth patterns was created:

Here's a video about the a Kente cloth master craftsman who has been weaving this traditional fabric for more than 50 years:

Get started on the printable worksheets.

What's in the Printable Worksheet Pack

This printable pack consists of 2 printable kente cloth design challenges. The first worksheet is a colouring sheet inspired by traditional Kente cloth patterns. The second sheet is a design worksheet for students and kids to apply their own kente cloth inspired patterns.

Let's get creative!

Click on the download link below to get started. Please note that this printable pack is only for paid members.