The Itoku Adire Market in central Abeokuta is the headquarters of the Yoruba adire tradition — the indigo-dyed and starch-resist textiles that the Egba women of Abeokuta have been making for at least two centuries. The market is a tight cluster of small stalls and workshops where you can watch the entire process: women drawing patterns on white cotton with starch, dipping the cloth repeatedly into vats of fermented indigo, washing and beating the dried cloth on stones to bring out the characteristic deep blue.
The cloth itself is sold by the yard in dozens of patterns: traditional motifs of birds, fish, geometric crosses, and contemporary designs commissioned for Lagos fashion houses. Prices are negotiable but reasonable; a good adire wrapper costs N₦5,000 to N₦15,000. The market is busy from early morning into the afternoon. Some workshops will dye to order if you can wait a week.