African Fabrics Explained: 10 Skills in 90 Seconds
· Episode 9 of 10
Episode 9 / 10
Authenticity Checks: Handmade vs. Machine-Printed Imitations
A fabric's reverse side looks nearly blank and its motif edges are perfectly sharp. What do these two signs indicate?
Both signs point to a machine-printed imitation: genuine wax-print fabrics show dye penetration on the reverse, and handcrafted fabrics have slight color variation or bleed at motif boundaries — not pixel-sharp edges.
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