Micro Genre: Batik Printing

In Africa, where batik was originally imported by Dutch merchants from Indonesia , paste made from starch or mud is used as a resist instead of wax. The most developed resist-dyeing skills are to be found in Nigeria where the Yoruba make adire cloths. Two methods of resist are used: adire eleso which involves tied and stitched designs and adire eleko that uses starch paste. The paste is most often made from cassava starch, rice, and other ingredients boiled together to produce a smooth thick paste. The Yoruba of West Africa use cassava paste as a resist while the Soninke and Wolof people in Senegal uses rice paste. The Bamana people of Mali use mud as a resist.

Batik is a technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to whole cloth, or cloth made using this technique originated from Indonesia. Batik is made either by drawing dots and lines of the resist with a spouted tool called a canting, or by printing the resist with a copper stamp called a cap. The applied wax resists dyes and therefore allows the artisan to colour selectively by soaking the cloth in one colour, removing the wax with boiling water, and repeating if multiple colours are desired.

Materials

• Pencil and Paper
• Muslin
• Scissors (fabric scissors, if you have them)
• Newspaper
• Drop Coth, Tarp, or Plastic Sheet
• Fabric Dyes
• Containers with Lids for the Dyes
• Water and Whisk (to mix the dyes)
• Beeswax (you can buy specific batik wax)
• Crock Pot or Hot Plate and Pot (to melt the wax)
• Tjanting Needles
• Paintbrushes for Dye
• Latex-Free Rubber Gloves (optional)
• Large Paintbrush for Hot Wax
• Clothes Iron