Batik 'n Craft

What is Batik ?

Batik is a dyeing technique used on textile which utilizes wax to resist the dye to penetrate certain area of the fabric.
Melted wax is applied to cloth before being dipped in dye. Wherever the wax has seeped through the fabric, the dye will not penetrate. Sometimes several colors are used, with a series of dyeing, drying and waxing steps to create exquisite batik patterns.

In Indonesian batik, the wax lines and dots are hand drawn with ‘canting’ (a wooden pen fitted with a reservoir for hot, liquid wax), or hand stamped with ‘Cap’ (copper block stamp) to create repetitive pre-made patterns.

Traditionally, hand drawing batik patterns (Batik Tulis) was practiced as a form of meditation by the female courtiers of Central Java. It takes a great deal of expertise, patience, and deep feeling to produce the finest Batik Tulis, and it may take days, weeks and even months to make only a piece of fabric. Obviously, Batik Tulis are much more expensive than the stamped batiks.

Stamped batiks (Batik Cap), invented in the 19^th century, revolutionized the batik production & saved the batik industry from competition from cheap printed European cloth. Batik Cap allows batik artists to make high quality designs and intricate patterns much faster than one could possibly do by hand-painting.