Monday, August 27, 2012

Beautiful Batik: What It Is & How It's Made


I like to blog about things that interest me, inspire me, and fascinate me. 
Batik does all three! 

There are so many interesting things about batik; 
the colors and contrast, the technique, the almost magical 
finished design that has a beautiful, natural quality that is imperfect. 
I love all of it. 




What exactly is batik? 

Batik is created on cloth using a wax-resist process. It is a traditional Indonesian art that is also found in many other cultures. Hot beeswax mixed with paraffin (the resist) is applied to the cloth in a design. Then the cloth is dipped into a dye. All of the areas on the cloth that are covered with wax do not absorb the dye and remain their original color. The wax prevents the fabric from absorbing the dye.  Once the cloth is dry, more wax is applied, and then the material is dyed again, usually in a darker color, and so on and so forth, until the desired design is completed. Once finished, the wax is removed completely from the cloth by melting. The batik technique is very similar to the technique used to make pysanka, or Ukrainian eggs. 


Traditional batik tools





























Batik baby shark Onesie by pinkbunnybatiks via Etsy




Crafts you can do that are similar to batik:



What do you think?

If you like Batik, you might also want to check out my previous post on Pysanky:
How To Make Pysanky (Ukrainian Easter Eggs)



Please leave a comment below! 




I hope you have a great week 
Love, Laura


My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns