October, 1917 
29 
The -wav. must be kept heated and the tjanting kept clean. 
The cloth should be lifted from the board in waxing to 
allow both sides to be covered 
signs in dress goods, ribbons and 
other fabrics are difficult to pro¬ 
cure at present, batik work is 
being applied to the making of 
borders for dresses, yoke designs, 
ribbons for hats, belts, collars 
and cuffs for women’s coats, 
scarfs, hand bags and such 
articles. 
This, of course, is following 
the native custom. A field has 
been found for larger batiks in 
interior decoration, where the 
dyed designs are now being em¬ 
ployed as pillow covers, lamp 
shades, drapes, curtains, table 
covers and wall decorations. As 
the color scheme for a room is 
conceived, harmonizing or con¬ 
trasting colors can be used in the 
batiks for spots of color. As 
wall decorations batiks can be 
used much in the same manner 
as a tapestry, hung over a couch 
or behind a group of furniture 
or for an overmantel decoration. 
The modern designs are distinct¬ 
ly original, many of them quite 
fantastic, and the colors are full, 
rich and strong. One batik 
hanging will galvanize life into a room that 
otherwise would be drab and colorless. It will 
furnish a center of interest, and lend an un¬ 
usual atmosphere of modernity. 
Methods of Making Batiks 
The method of making a batik is simple, 
and, with a reasonable amount of care, beauti¬ 
ful things can be produced. The common dyes, 
procurable at any store, are the best to use. 
Beeswax is found most satisfactory, and there 
need be no loss of the wax since it can be used 
for several batiks. Never have the temperature 
of the pan of dye over 110°, otherwise the 
beeswax is melted and the design is spoiled. 
The beeswax must be kept melted ever a flame, 
preferably in a little pan. If one cannot pro¬ 
cure a tjanting, the work can be done entirely 
with different sized brushes. After each dyeing 
the cloth must be rinsed thoroughly in cold 
water to prevent streaking. With care in 
handling after waxing, a small amount of 
crackle will show. If more of the crackle is 
desired, twist the cloth more before dyeing. 
After the last dyeing the wax is removed by 
washing in benzine, and then the cloth is 
pressed. Should the batik become soiled after 
use, clean it in gasolene. 
In working on cloth, the designs are most 
effective when the material used permits the 
wax to pass through on being applied. Hence 
cotton or silk fabrics are chiefly used. 
Waxing and Dyeing 
First draw the design on paper the actual 
size you desire the finished pattern to be. It 
is best to make a water color sketch, separating 
the design into colored patches, keeping in 
mind the number of dyeings you wish to make. 
In the accompanying illustrations the fabric 
used was white silk, and but three dippings 
were made. A simple design was chosen to 
show the processes clearly. Much more intri¬ 
cate patterns, of course, are made. 
Having prepared the pattern the size you 
desire the finished article to be, perforate the 
outline of the color patches with a pin, and 
transfer the designs to the cloth by means of 
stamping powder. Then outline the transferred 
design on the cloth with wax, as shown in the 
first illustration. On the cloth wax over that 
An ordinary pan and common dyes are 
used. The dye must not run over 110° 
else the wax will melt 
part of the design you wish to 
keep white (see the second il¬ 
lustration), and dip in the light¬ 
est dye, say light yellow. Then 
wax over that part of the design 
you wish to keep yellow. Dip 
in the next darker shade. Con¬ 
tinue by waxing over the portion 
you wish to keep that color, and 
dip again. 
In the sample batik shown 
here only three dippings were 
necessary, the third being the 
darkest. The cloth was then 
washed and pressed, as in the 
lower right corner of page 28. 
This is the process in making 
all batiks. Designs can be 
elaborated and any number of 
dyeings used, but the method 
remains the same, always work¬ 
ing from the light to the dark 
in the dyes. 
Stretching the Fabric 
In waxing on cloth, it is ad¬ 
visable to hold the cloth up 
from the table or board on which 
one is working, so that the 
wax will penetrate and cover 
both sides of the fabric. In fact, on larger 
pieces a curtain stretcher is generally used, 
and for the very smallest one might try em¬ 
broidery rings. This precaution is taken be¬ 
cause if the cloth comes in contact with the 
board while waxing, the wax will be pulled 
from the back when the cloth is moved, and the 
dye will color the cloth from that side. 
In batiking on leather the wax is applied 
the same as on cloth, but instead of dipping 
the leather, the dye is applied to the waxed 
side by means of a sponge. 
When velvet is batiked the wax must be 
applied to both sides of the fabric. This may 
require a double sketching of the design, but 
the added effort will be repaid by the accuracy 
of the finished article. 
A Plan for the Beginner 
The beginner who does not want to take 
chances with an expensive fabric had better try 
her hand on a small piece of silk first and limit 
her efforts to one dyeing. In this case a mix¬ 
ture of paraffine and beeswax will be more 
economical than using beeswax alone. The 
mixture can be laid on the silk with a stub pen 
or brushes of different sizes. This waxing will 
cover the design that is to be withheld in the 
original color of the fabric. Other colors can 
be put on with a brush in small areas and then 
waxed. The fabric will be ready for the one 
dipping in dye. Or, if the beginner wants to 
carry her experiments further, she can leave 
the parts that have been painted unwaxed and 
see what color results from the dyeing. The 
Javanese waxed each separate design for each 
dyeing, but American craftsmen have greatly 
improved the process by applying the prin¬ 
ciples of color printing to batiks. In color 
printing the printer figures the effect he will 
obtain by imposing one colored ink on another 
—a blue over yellow will get him green. This 
same principle will apply in dyeing the batik. 
If the original ground of the fabric is yellow 
and the one dyeing is blue, the resultant effect 
will be green. Various tones of orange can be 
produced with a red dye; in fact, there is no 
tint or shade that the expert cannot eventually 
get. We may not order fabrics made the spe¬ 
cial color we desire; but for an insignificant 
sum the batik artist can produce it. 
