Batik prints (pronounced BAH-teek) have been popular for centuries. Making a batik print on a white t-shirt or on an old white sheet is a good place to start. Creating art is a labor of love and this art project is one to fall in love with, one step at a time.
Generally known to have originated in Indonesia, batik predates written records. Also found in ancient Egyptian tombs, batik was used to decorate ceremonial linens. Made by soaking linen in wax and scratching out designs with a pointed tool, ornate batik designs were born.
Batik has come and gone in popularity through the ages. Today, Indonesian fashion designers continue to update the traditional Kebaya (everyday dresses) and formal wear with new fabrics and patterns.
Decorating cloth by covering it with wax in a pattern and then dying it, leaving color to settle on the unwaxed portions is the strange, beautiful way batik is made. One of the most characteristic side-effects of batik is the line that appears in the wax as dye seeps in and leaves a crinkled "vein."
Common batik fabrics range from the casual cotton, linen, poplin and cambric to the more formal silk. Colors found in ancient batik prints exuded earthy colors from the bark and leaves of trees and the various shades found in flowers and minerals.
Batik has been crafted by using the splash method, screen-painting method, printing block method and of course, by hand painting.
What Kind of Wax Should be Used: Making Batik Prints on Fabric
Traditionally the wax used to make batik prints is a blend of beeswax (30 percent) and paraffin (70 percent). This combination serves two purposes; the beeswax holds well to the fabric while the paraffin wax allows the crackling, characteristic lines to appear in batik.
While this particular homeschool batik project calls for melted crayons instead of the traditional blend of wax, the act of scrunching the fabric up before placing it in the dye helps create the characteristic lines.
How to Make an Easy Batik Print in a Homeschool Setting
Materials:
- old white sheets cut into strips and squares
- white tee shirts
- melted wax or melted used crayons
- old brushes
- cold water dye
- pan large enough to hold coffee tin
- coffee tin
- small bucket for soaking
- old newspapers for blotting
Directions:
- Set coffee tin into pan of boiling water. After wax melts, keep heat on low to medium heat, replenishing water as it evaporates.
- Mix dye as directed on package into coffee tin or old bucket.
- Put crayons into the coffee tin to melt. This step should be supervised by adults at all times.
- Brush melted wax onto the fabric where you don't want color.
- Scrunch up the fabric, then unfold and place into dye.
- Leave cloth in the cool dye and let soak for 10 minutes.
- Rinse cloth in cold water.
- Blot the dye on newspapers and hang outside to dry.
- When fabric is dry, lay between two newspapers and press with hot iron.
- Change newspapers often and repeat ironing process until all wax has been removed. This step must be done carefully so as not to get wax on the iron.
- If more colors are desired, repeat process of adding dye and wax to make more ornate color patterns.
Using this process, homeschoolers can make small pillows by sewing together squares and stuffing with plastic bags, or easily making beautiful, decorated scarves, t-shirts, tablecloths and napkins. A batik print on a square piece of fabric can also be attached to a background color and framed as wall art.
Readers who enjoyed this article may also like India – A Six-Week Homeschool Project.
Vicki F. Chavis - Growing up in Asia, Europe and North America left Vicki with a love of cuisine, history, language, fashion and travel. Today she writes on ...
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