Black and Natural Textiles for Home Decor

Morrissey Fabric Vintage Asian Hill Tribe Textile

Black and white home decor continues to be a strong trend whether you look at farmhouse style, contemporary style, beach cottage style, or global style home goods. But not everyone wants pure optic white in their home since it can read as cold or unwelcoming. So why not try natural homespun cotton textiles for a warmer version of the black and white trend?  Above is a natural linen hill tribe cloth from Asia that has a rustic yet crisp appeal. These Asian hill tribe textiles run very narrow at just ten to twelve inches in width, but you can easily join several panels together to get the width you desire. 

Morrissey Fabric Vintage Chair

The chair seen here was a cast-off piece that I knew was worth saving.  I sanded down the old finish and painted the chair a warm gray. I then sewed together two panels of the vintage Asian hill tribe cloth to get enough width to cover the chair. I also used a decorative black and natural one-inch trim to disguise the seam. So while this chair is not strictly black and white, it does fit into a black and white color story.

African textiles are usually made from homespun unbleached cotton fibers.  The African cloth in the photo above seems to have different names depending on which African dealer I spoke to.  The gentleman I sourced this African textile from informed me that it was called a Hausa textile.  But I've also been told it is a cotton African Fulani blanket.  Whatever you choose to call it, in my shop I offer some of these large textiles as full size pieces. They are individually hand crafted in Africa to be used as bed covers.  They can be pricey, so I also offer smaller sections for my clients to make pillows. The texture of the African hausa and fulani textiles make lovely pillows, upholstery, or as intended, bedspreads.

Pillow by Cloth & Main, Canada

The pillow above is another example of a warm white homespun cotton Hausa textile made into a beautiful pillow at Cloth and Main.  The African Fulani textile was laundered and cut down to custom make large cozy pillows.  The hand stitching used to join the narrower strips of cloth is still visible and adds hand-crafted charm to the finished pillow.

Mud Cloth Textiles at Morrissey Fabric

African mud cloth textiles are originally woven with unbleached homespun cotton fibers. This is why the mud cloth fabric has a warm organic look about it. African mud cloth is printed by hand once the strips of narrow cotton cloth are sewn together to make one wider textile.  Since these unbleached cotton fabrics are made by hand, they don't often come in large sizes.  What many people don't realize is that authentic African mud cloth is commonly made into mud cloth pieces that run about forty inches wide by sixty inches long. That's about the size of a large beach towel.  

Mud Cloth Pillow at Morrissey Fabric on Etsy

Authentic black and natural African mud cloth fabrics will provide you with one-of-a-kind pillows due to the hand made nature of the textile.  Every pillow crafted from authentic mud cloth will have it's own set of unique charactaristics such as the number of slubs and seeds visible and the spacing of the hand-applied print. Even the shades of white found in African mud cloth will vary. So if you are looking for a way to add a touch of soft ivory and black to your home, global textiles are a great way to do just that. Find a selection here at my on line shop or visit my Etsy shop for even more global and vintage textiles.

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