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/bogolan · pattern · 3 readings

Bogolan patterns: negative diamond, chevron, crosshatch in three finishes

Bogolan — Squares of dark mud-painted ground each holding a different pale sign — a fish bone, a crossroads, a small ladder, a row of teeth — the squares set in a strict grid with the strip seams cutting straight through them., hand-spun cotton strips dyed in a leaf bath then painted with fermented river mud, the ground bleached back after

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all 9 samples — three readings, three styles ↓

Reading 1Sign blocks
Reading 2Banded strips
Reading 3Compartment field

Bogolan is Bamana mud cloth: strips dyed yellow, then painted with fermented mud that darkens the leaf where it lands, before the remaining yellow is scrubbed away — the mud is the field and the motif is what was left alone. These nine hold a negative diamond, a negative chevron and a negative crosshatch, each in bold black-and-ochre, fine linework and a contemporary colourway. Ask for a different negative shape and the same three finishes carry it.

  • a fabric or wallpaper swatch
  • a gift print
  • a cultural studies handout
  • a home decor accent

Frequently asked questions

What size do these print at?
Each pattern is drawn at A3 proportions with an even margin, so it prints clean at A3 or scales to A4.
Can I get a different negative shape?
Yes — name a different negative shape in the direction field and the same three finishes render it.
What's the difference between the three finishes?
Bold black-and-ochre keeps the traditional mud-dye contrast; fine linework thins the same negative shape to a delicate outline; contemporary colourway opens the negative technique to a brighter modern palette.
Is this respectful of real Malian mud-cloth traditions?
The set draws on the Bamana mud-cloth resist-and-negative technique from Mali as a style reference for a generated print, not a reproduction of any specific dyer's own cloth.

About toile

This page is a showcase and a starting point: nine samples already rendered, three readings of the pack crossed with three styles, each shown at the size and ratio it was made for. Take any of them further on the wall with a few words, or ask for all nine again under your own direction; a sign-in keeps what you make, and it is free while Toile is new. The recipe behind each sample — the subject, the style, the palette, the framing — travels with the image rather than staying private to the render: it is in the alt text of every sample and in the page's own structured data, so a search engine reads the same handles a person would.