The history of Adire textile, pronounced as Ah-DEE-reh dates back to the old Yoruba tribe of the Southwestern part of Nigeria. It is also called tie & dye.
Adire are made by resist-dyeing which involves creating a pattern by treating certain parts of the fabric in some way to prevent them absorbing dye. Cloths were made up of two strips of factory produced cotton shirting sewn together to form a shape that was roughly square.
Though the technique dates to the 1800s, the term àdìrẹ, meaning 'tie and dye' in Yoruba, was first used in the early 20th century, and became increasingly popular in the 1920s due to an influx of imported European cotton shirting material, which encouraged makers to experiment with pattern.
Pure adire silk fabric can be made from material such as spandex silk, pure silk, chiffon and or cotton.