Batik for Beginners

Batik is an ancient craft newly revived, results in the creation of beautiful and decorative fabrics through the use of resist substance and dyes.

Throughout civilization, mankind has been interested in self-adornment. One manifestation of this interest is fabric decoration, which has played a significant part in the history of various peoples. Wall paintings and tablets have told the story of cloth dyeing and embellishment. Indeed, archaeological evidence of this craft dates as fa back as 5000 years.

Although the discoverers or originators of the batik process remain unknown, fragments of decorated fabrics which have been resist dyed have been found in many places in the world. In Roman writings, wax, flour paste, clay resists and dyeing have been described in historical accounts. It is assumed that the techniques were brought to egypt from India, because tools and blocks for fabric decoration dating from 3000 B.C. have been found in India. And it was trade with India which also introduced wax resists to Indonesia and Java, where the world’s finest batics are still produced. (In Javanese, tik means light dots or points against a darker background.)

Basic Equipment And Supplies

The materials used for batik are readily available in most communities. Many of the materials and supplies can be purchased in grocery, drug, variety, department and hardware stores. Some equipment is available in the home. The following is a basic list: (1) an appliance for heating wax, such as an electric skillet, fryer, hot plate, or double boiler; (2) a table or other large working surface; and (3) a frame (stretcher, embroidery hoop, or other type of frame used to hold cloth).

Basic supplies include: (1) fabric (about three yards of 100% cotton – especially muslin is excellent for the beginner); (2) wax (one or two pounds of paraffin and some beeswax, available in grocery stores and candle shops, among others); (3) household or fiber reactive dyes (the former are available in drug and variety stores and the latter can be bought from batik craft suppliers) of the following colors: lemon yellow, yellow scarlet, magenta red, blue and turquoise brown and black are optional; (4) cleaning fluid; (5) contact paper and (6) common salt, soap and vinegar.

TOOLS AND OBJECTS

1. Brushes. One wide bristle brush, one narrow bristle brush, and one pointed brush for application of waxes and dyes.

2. Tjanting. A tjanting is a drawing tool for holding hot wax and is used for designing line patterns; available at craft shops handling batik supplies.

3. Stamps and blocks used for printing designs with hot wax on fabric. Such objects include cookie cutters, metal tools, or cardboard tubes.

Basic Procedures

The batik process is basically a resist method of producing images and designs on cloth or paper: designs are planned, the cloth is washed, hot wax is applied to it, and the cloth is dyed. The areas covered with wax resist the dyes and remain the color of the cloth. Unwaxed areas are the dyed color. Batiks can be planned for one-, two-, or three-color sequences-some designers use as many as 20 colors. After the last dye application, the wax is removed and the cloth is finished.

Batik is fun and satisfying but the process is a time consuming one that requires patience on the part of the beginner. Designs need to be drawn carefully so the eventual placement of waxes and dyes is clear.

FABRIC

Very fine, 100% cottons are best for batik. Because most new fabrics are treated with sizing, preparation of the cloth requires washing, preshrinking, rinsing, and pressing. A think starch solution or spray starch will help in pressing fabric smooth and in keeping the hot wax from spreading into the fabric.

The cloth should be stretched tightly so that waxing tools can glide freely, allowing the hot wax to penetrate easily.

WAX

Paraffin,  the most inexpensive wax for batik, produces a crackle or vein-like webbing in the design pattern. Because using paraffin alone can result in the wax not clinging to or penetrating the cloth, a small portion of beeswax should be combined with the paraffin. Beeswax may be more difficult to obtain. Some art supply companies sell a batik wax which is a combination of beeswax and paraffin – an ideal wax contains equal amount of each.

DYES

There are many kinds of dyes available to the batik craftsman. For the beginner, there are enough household dyes, direct dyes, and fiber reactive dyes to choose from to achieve excellent and successful results. Basic colors for developing a wide color range are lemon yellow, scarlet, and ultramarine blue. Other colors that would add to color exploration are magenta red, deep yellow, turquoise, brown and black.

COLOR

The one-color process is an excellent way for the beginner to start batik. In using one color at a time, there can be dramatic contrasts of dye color to the white or light background color-trying a dark or intense color will bring the designs out even more. An experiment for the beginner follows.

Begin by waxing out all areas that are to remain the original color of the fabric. Then wet the fabric and immerse in a red dye bath. Rinse the fabric and let dry.

Once this process is mastered, plan a design using the following four-color dye bath process. Wax areas that are to remain the original color of the fabric, wet the fabric, and immerse it in a yellow dye bath. Rinse and dry. Next, wax out areas to remain yellow and rewax white if necessary. Wet the fabric in plain water and then put into a red dye. Follow the dyeing procedure the rinse and dry. Now wax areas that are to remain orange, wet the fabric, and immerse it in a brown dye. Rinse and dry. Wax out any area to be left brown and rewax other areas if necessary. Wet the fabric and finally put it into a dark-blue or black dye. Iron out wax between newspapers until fabric is as free of wax as possible (there will still be dark wax outlines left). Dry clean to remove all remaining wax.

Because dyes are transparent, one needs to think about color and experiment with it. Remember that red over yellow produces orange; blue over yellow produces green; and blue over red produces violet. It is always a good idea to have some small pieces of fabric available as test pieces and to keep a record of successful combinations. In this way one accumulates information and acquires an expertise in working with dye colors.

Once the batik method is learned, cloth design becomes a uniquely personal form of artistic expression.

Reference: LeeWards Illustrated Library of Arts and Crafts

For home decoration ideas, please visit www.homegoodsrus.com