Traditional technique produced all over the far east. The process is done by hand to produce pretty, expensive fabrics and by machine for mass produced fashion fabrics.
Hand produced batik:
1. Draw the design with melted wax onto white of undyed fabric using a brush to cover the areas of the fabric that is desired to be left white or undyed. Wooden or metal blocks can also be used.
2. When the wax is hard, crackle it, brush it with coldwater dye or dip dye then rinse off the excess dye.
3. Repeat the waxing and dyeing process to produce more complex patterns by over dyeing.
4. Dry the fabric then iron between absorbent paper to remove the wax and heat set the dye.
Industrially produced batik.
Mass produced batik fabrics incorporate the use of machinery for fast, automated production which reduces costs. This can be done by using various methods.
1. Print gum or wax resist paste onto the fabric surface from hot rollers to form a resist. Dye the fabric and use a heat finishing to remove the surplus gum or wax and fix the dye.
2. Print resin onto white or coloured fabric as a resist. Dye the fabric and use heat finishing to remove resin and fix the dye.
3. Print a batik style design onto the fabric from engraved rollers, using photographic methods or CAD CAM. Apply finishing to fix the dye.
