Behind the Scenes

Do you want to know how batik is made? Follow along!

Someone with a vision stencils a design that is then made into a stamp using copper and metal. We saw a room with shelves to the ceiling full of such patterns, each one particular to a region or village. Many of the designs are symbolic and are easily recognizable to the batik-discerning eye.

For big pieces of cloth the stamps are dipped in hot wax and imprinted over and over and over again to create a large design.

We amateurs tried our hand at a small piece of fabric with smaller stamps.

Batik tulis is made by hand with a little wand carrying hot wax onto the fabric. It is a lot harder than it looks.

Some intricate designs and the more expensive batik fabrics are done entirely by hand by patient women working with the hot wax.

The fabrics are hand dyed, often many times to create multi-colored patterns or different shades of the same color. This can take days and days and days.

Here's a piece of fabric that has had its first dye and now is drying outside. Perhaps another layer of wax will be added for another color or shade of pink/red.