Batik is a method which uses hot wax as a resistant to protect fabrics from dye. This is best done on light weight fabrics such as silk or cotton lawn as the wax needs to penetrate the fabric completely which is easier to do with lightweight fabrics.
Once the wax was melted, i used a Tjanting tool and sometimes a paintbrush to apply wax onto the fabric. The wax often dripped from the Tjanting tool so i used newsprint to catch any of these drops so they didn't go on my work. Once id completed my pattern using wax, i applied the dye to my fabric. I did this by painting the dye onto my fabric with a paintbrush. I then had the opportunity to put more wax on my fabric (once the first layer of dye had dried, to help with this i rubbed newsprint on it until no more colour was coming out) to layer on colours onto my design. Once i was happy with my design, and the fabric was dry, i had to iron it. Ironing my design in between layers of newsprint would remove the wax and fixes the dye. I had to layer my design under a few sheets of newsprint so that this would catch the excess wax.
Health and Safety-
The wax can be very hot and stick to your skin, burning it.
Do not leave the wax pots on unattended in a room.
Take care when using the iron.
Always wear protective rubber gloves and apron.
I enjoyed this session as i had free reign on what designs i wanted to do, as long as they linked in with the nature theme.
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| One of my finished designs, using only one layer of wax and dye. |
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| The dye's we were using. |
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| A wax pot and Tjanting tools |
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