hand BLOCK-PRINTED batik
The printing process begins by “stamping” the desired motif repetitively on the material with molten wax by means of a metal block. The wax “block-out” the areas of the fabric to be retained white on for the consequtive prints while the exposed areas will be dyed.
The process is repeated with the second colour and continues to a maximum of 4 colours. On each occassion, molten wax is used to “block-out” the areas on which the dyed colour is to be retained. Cracks are made in the waxed material to create the unique batik textures found on genuine hand-made batik.
hand-drawn batik
Batik design can also be drawn by hand, resulting in exclusive designs of multicoloured shades. This process is a vast improvement from the traditional block printing process which is restricted to a maximum size of 9 inches square and to a maximum of four colours.
In the hand-drawn batik process, molten wax is applied onto the desired designs which are drawn on the material by using a “jhunting” (a copper instrument with a container for holding the liquid wax to flow out). Colours are then applied individually by a brush on the required design including the background colour.
Traditional process
After each “stamping” process, the fabric is immersed in a troughful of dye which colours the exposed areas. The process is repeated several times to achieve an even shade.
The wax is finally removed by boiling the fabrics. While extensive washing is to remove the access colours. The final resut, after the wax is removed, is the desired design.