Àdìrẹ is an indigo-dyed cloth traditionally produced by Yoruba women in south-western Nigeria. A range of resist-dye techniques are used to create àdìrẹ patterns, sometimes incorporating more than one technique in a single cloth. The ground-cloth of cotton is folded, stitched, tied or otherwise worked-upon in preparation for dyeing; these areas resist the dye, creating the cloth’s distinctive blue and white patterns. The precise origins of àdìrẹ are unknown, though indigo-dyeing has been in evidence across West Africa for centuries. Àdìrẹ has an enduring presence in the region, becoming a popular, everyday cloth, with many women dyeing àdìrẹ of their own design within the home. Once dyed, àdìrẹ cloth can be wrapped or stitched to create garments, such as a woman’s ìró (wrapped skirt). From the 20th century onwards, factory-woven cloth began to be used; this cloth accepted the dye more easily, creating a finer clarity of design. Whist factories are now able to mass-produce imitation àdìrẹ, the popularity of the traditional hand-worked cloth remains, made by local artisans in historic dyeing centres such as Ibadan.

Àdìrẹ is subcategorised according to the method of resist-dyeing used. In this example, both àdìrẹ alábẹ́rẹ́ and àdìrẹ ẹlékọ techniques are in evidence, using stitching and starch respectively as the resist. On a groundcloth of factory-woven cotton, white colour blocks have been created by applying starch to sections of the cloth, while the faint hand motif has been made by machine-sewing the design into the cloth and then unpicking it after it has been dyed. Such machine-stitching is completed by men, unlike all other types of àdìrẹ which women hand tie, stitch and paint before dyeing.

Àdìrẹ cloths are usually made up of two lengths of factory produced shirting sewn together to form a shape that is roughly square, typically worn by women wrapped around the waist with the seam running horizontally, forming an ìró (wrapped skirt). However, in this example the cloth has been cut into strips about 19cm wide which have been sewn together to form a standard sized cloth. The use of strips imitates locally woven cloth that is produced in narrow strips.