 |
|
History of Batik
The term “Batik” is an Indonesian-Malay word. Some believe the word to be derived from the word 'ambatik' which translated means 'a cloth with little dots'. Today, it is a generic term referring to the process of dyeing cloth using a resist technique. This really means covering certain areas of the cloth with a dye-resistant substance such as wax to prevent them from absorbing colours.
The technique is believed to be over a thousand years old. Historically there is evidence that cloth decorated with this technique was in use in the early centuries AD in Africa, the Middle East and in several places in Asia. Many believe it was brought to Asia by travellers from the Indian subcontinent. Samples of dye resistance patterns on cloth can be traced back 1,500 years ago to Egypt and the Middle East. Samples have also been found in Turkey, India, China, Japan and West Africa from past centuries. Although in these countries people were already using the technique of dye resisting decoration within the textile realm, none have developed batik to its present day art form as the highly developed intricate batik found in Malaysia and has become a very central means of artistic expression for many of the countries of Asia.
At beachbatik.com, our passion is to blend the carefree attitude of the beach lifestyle with a commitment to providing fashionable, contemporary batik beachwear products designed for the woman with good taste.
Batik Technique
Much of the popularity of Batik can be traced to the fact that the batik technique offers tremendous possibilities for artistic freedom as patterns are designed by actual drawing rather than by weaving with thread. Another reason for its popularity is the fact that it is so durable. The colours in Batik are much more resistant to wear and tear than those of painted or printed fabrics because the cloth is completely immersed in dye and the areas not protected by resist are allowed to absorb hues to the extent that the colours will not fade easily .
Because of the popularity of batik designs, many batik patterns are used in a wide variety of fabrics. Many fabrics are termed batik although they were not made in the traditional method. There are those that believe that such cloth has a batik like design but is not true batik which is confined to fabrics made through the original methods of dyeing. Modern designers in Malaysia, Indonesia and to a lesser extent Thailand, the Philippines and elsewhere often use batik design elements and often the actual batik cloth in their clothing and accessories. Although most batik fabric is now decorated and tailored by machine, there still remains a considerable market for high-quality, hand-made batik.
The process of batik printing is extremely tedious and goes through a number of stages such as “Designing” where designs are traced from stencils or patterns onto a cloth. Then comes the process of “Waxing” where the design drawn out on the cloth is waxed. Here, wax is applied to the cloth over the areas of the design that is to remain the original colour of the cloth. After the first round of wax has been applied, the fabric is ready for its first dye bath. In the past, dying was carried out in earthenware tubs. Today most batik factories use concrete vats. Above the vats are ropes with pulleys that the fabric is draped over after it has been dipped into the dye bath. The number of colours in each batik cloth represents the number of times it was immersed in the dye bath and how many times wax had to be applied and removed. Naturally a multicoloured batik represents a lot more work that a single or two-colour piece.
|
|