“Open Up a Shop”: Pretoria Mom With No Experience Sews Heritage Day Outfit for Daughter, SA Wowed
- A Pretoria mom took on the challenge of creating a traditional Xhosa-inspired Heritage Day outfit for her daughter from scratch
- The mother had no prior sewing experience but taught herself to cut, stitch and hand-bead the entire outfit
- South Africans online praised her effort and love for Xhosa culture after the video went viral on TikTok
- Briefly News reached out to the mom about her umbaco sewing journey, and she opened up about making her daughter's outfit from scratch
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Source: TikTok
A local mother went above and beyond for Heritage Day, hand-crafting a traditional Xhosa-inspired outfit for her daughter despite having never sewn a day in her life. TikTok user @new.pretoria.girl shared the process on 18 September 2026, and South Africans could not stop watching.
The video follows her from the very beginning. She measured and cut the fabric herself, then sat down at a sewing machine to stitch the pieces together. The most striking part was the beadwork. She painstakingly hand-beaded vibrant pink and purple details onto the collar and skirt, adding a personal touch that made the outfit truly stand out.
A Heritage Day outfit made with love
The finished product was a beautiful, custom-made traditional outfit that her daughter wore with pride on Heritage Day. What made it even more remarkable was that the mother had no formal training or experience to fall back on. She figured it out as she went, and the results spoke for themselves.
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The video struck a chord with viewers who appreciated not just the craftsmanship but also the cultural respect behind it. For many South Africans, Heritage Day is a celebration of all 11 cultures in the country, and this mom embodied that spirit fully.
Watch the full creative process in the TikTok video below:
Creative mom shares how she hand-sewed umbhaco for her daughter
The Briefly News team caught up with the inspiring mother, who revealed what sparked her decision to create a traditional Xhosa outfit despite having no background in sewing.
When asked what inspired her to take on the challenge of hand-crafting an umbhaco for her daughter despite having no prior sewing experience, she shared:
“I couldn’t find a traditional outfit in the normal shops, especially a children’s one. So I phoned a Xhosa friend of mine to help me find the perfect material, and decided to make it myself to match my daughter’s personality, which is obviously pink! Haha ❤️ I thought if it came out badly, it would be ok because it must just survive for one day. But it really turned out so much better than I imagined!”
Reflecting on what this creative process meant to her and her family in celebrating South African culture as a non-Xhosa mother, she noted:
“I love the detail and colourful clothing that some cultures have in South Africa! So I felt so blessed to see for myself how much work actually goes into making all these beautiful attires! And how much effort goes into each piece! I have so much respect for them! Wow! It takes them so much time and effort to create all their clothing, and I didn’t realise it until now. I really believe in Ubuntu, so when it came to dressing for Heritage Day, I wanted my daughter to show cultural appreciation and wear their traditional clothing.”
Sharing how her daughter reacted to the outfit and what the online response has been like, she added:
“My daughter freaked out! She loved it! She refused to take it off. The majority of the comments have been so encouraging. I’ve had many DM’s to please make their children's clothing; I’ve had many people love the fact that my daughter’s white, but she’s showing respect to other cultures. I’ve even seen people say that for this year’s Heritage Day they also want to dress in other cultures' traditional clothing to show them respect as a rainbow nation. We may be different cultures, but together we make up the beautiful South Africa, and I want to show appreciation for our diversity and different cultures that still make us one.”
Mzansi reacts to the Xhosa-inspired creation
The response captured just how much the video moved people. Whether they were impressed by the beadwork, touched by the cultural appreciation, or simply charmed by a mother going to extraordinary lengths for her child, South Africans agreed this was Heritage Day done right. Viewers flooded the comments section to share their thoughts:
@Mucholone wrote:
"Cultural appreciation."
@MISSYOUNG said:
"As long as I'm South African, it can be any of the 11 cultures. Now that's a flex 🇿🇦🙏."
@LOTUS joked:
"Good enough. When can you do my wedding dress?"
@Zamajobe Sithole added:
"Yours is so cute! I love the pink! I didn't like my attempt."
@Xola Ntlokwana
"Open up a shop immediately 😂."
@Senami shared:
"My Xhosa people can't we please give mama and daughter Xhosa names, please ♥️."
3 more articles about kids
- Two young twin sisters from the Eastern Cape touched South Africans after a viral video captured them singing a gospel hymn in harmony before heading to school.
- A young boy from the Eastern Cape, Zuluboy, amused South Africans after sharing a lighthearted video declaring that his "English is depleted" after his mother requested him to shoot a video for a campaign.
- Briefly News reported that a mom posted a funny video of her Zulu son insisting that he was Xhosa, after his friend convinced him and the entire class that they were all Xhosa.
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Source: Briefly News
