Guide · 5 min read
An afternoon in the adire lanes of Itoku
Abeokuta is the home of adire, the indigo resist-dyed cloth of the Egba women. The lanes around Itoku are where to see it made and to buy it well.
By the front desk at Hilltop · October 2026
Go after four
In the early afternoon the cloth is still in the dye pits. By four the dyers are lifting it out and hanging it in the lanes, and the light is softer for looking at colour. Take small notes of cash as well as your phone for transfers; most stalls take both.
Know the kinds
Adire eleko is drawn with starch paste by hand, often in old patterns with names. Adire oniko is tied with raffia before dyeing, and gives the circles you see on our cushions. Stencilled cloth is quicker and cheaper. None is better; ask what you are looking at.
Hand drawn patterns are never perfectly even, and that is the point.
Buying well
Feel the weight of the cloth and look at the back. Hand drawn patterns are never perfectly even, and that is the point. Two yards is enough for a top; four to six for a wrapper and blouse. Prices vary with the work, so ask a few stalls before you choose.
Watch it being made
Several dyers are happy to show visitors the pits and explain the indigo, for a small fee that goes to the workshop. Ask the desk in the morning and Mama Bisi will call ahead so someone is free.
Bringing it home
Wash adire on its own in cold water the first few times, and dry it in the shade. The deep blue will soften with each wash into the colour you see on old wrappers in Egba family photographs.