Rayon Batiks

Cotton Batiks

The island of Java is the center of batik making for Indonesia, the country which produces most of the batik in the world today. Batik means 'to dot'. There are two kinds of batik, Batik Tulis (hand drawn) and Batik Cap (stamped).

The tracing is the first stage, followed by applying the wax and dye substances. In the final stage all the wax is scraped off and the cloth is boiled to remove all traces of the wax. This is done several times. Repeatedly waxing and dyeing is the batik process.

Batik tulis is the more expensive fabric. A canting (a pen like instrument that holds liquid wax) is applied to the cloth in batik tulis making.

Batik cap also uses the waxing process. A wajan is a container that holds the melted wax; it looks like a small wok. Cap (pronounced chop) is a copper stamp that enables a high volume of batik production compared to the traditional method of tulis. The hand stamping is what makes this process of batiking faster.

The appreciation of batik tulis is higher. It is the work of an artist, not a craftsman. It takes months to make batik tulis. The most common fabrics used in batiking are cotton and rayon.