Beautiful Batik

Batik is one of the arts and crafts most usually associated with South East Asia and Thailand or Malaysia in particular. Many believe that the word has a Malay root and translates as “to write” or “to dot”.   It is very skilful and undeniably beautiful.  But what is it exactly?

Batik is thought to have originated in China in Yunnan. Even today, batik is still the main attire of Yunnan women and it’s believed that batiks and sarongs made their way to neighbouring peoples in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bali from China. Batik creates designs, usually on cloth, by applying wax to portions of the material, dyeing it and then removing the wax.

When first practiced, batik belonged only to royalty and families of wealth and position. It was a hobby for the royal woman. Aristocrats and royalty had certain designs identifying a family, social status or geographical location.   Many of these designs have survived to this day and it’s believed that certain patterns have special meanings or bring the wearer good luck, wealth, prosperity, health, etc.

To make batik , detailed designs are first drawn freehand with a pencil on the textile. The outline of the pattern is blocked out onto the cloth, traditionally with charcoal or graphite. Once the design is drawn out onto the cloth it is then ready to be waxed. Wax is applied to the cloth over the areas of the design that are to remain the original colour of the cloth, almost like working with a photographic negative.

The wax is used to retrace the pencil outline on the fabric and to ensure the pattern is well defined, batik is waxed on both sides. True batik therefore should be reversible, with the pattern identical on both sides.   After the initial wax has been applied, the fabric is ready for the first dye bath. Traditionally dying was done in earthenware tubs. Today most batik factories use large concrete vats. When the desired colour has been achieved and the fabric has dried, wax is reapplied over the areas that need to remain the first dye colour so that another colour can be applied at a later stage in the dying process.

The number of colours in batik represents how many times it was immersed in the dye bath and how many times wax had to be applied and removed.  The end result of this skilled and laborious process is a garment of vibrant beauty and unique design that should last a lifetime.

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