The cloth
Bogolanfini begins as hand-woven cotton strip cloth, joined selvedge to selvedge before it ever meets the dye. It is dyed with a n'tjankara leaf mordant followed by a slow black-mud pass — the pattern is not printed on, it is drawn in mud and then the ground around it is lifted away. On this piece the mudcloth meets ivory linen-denim with indigo denim panels, gold-on-black bogolan collar, placket column and cuffs, gold dome buttons, high-low hem.
