September 8, 2010

batik tools and equipment


Batik tools are pretty simple, and are used to transport the hot wax to the cloth.

I should mention here that when you are using hot wax you must wear closed shoes, and gloves are also a necessity if you wish to avoid burns to your hands. I also wear glasses, as a splash to your eye could do a bit of damage.

So the first tools are
  1. boots,
  2. gloves,
  3. and glasses.


The equipment needed to start batiking is

  1. A saucepan dedicated to wax that you can heat your wax and also leave your wax in cold. this saves lots of transfer and cleaning up.
  2. Some bees wax
  3. Some very old paint brushes that are not expensive ones. They get wrecked.
  4. Some canting tools of various sizes
  5. A wire clothes rack to peg your fabric tight across while you work on it.
  6. A large open saucepan of vegetation dye to place your batik into to dye.
  7. A saucepan to heat to water to boil the wax out of your fabric.

Over the next few posts we will be getting into the nitty gritty of the process, the types of wax, the types of fabrics, the dye baths, the different types of wax, and getting the wax out.

But I think its best not to overload ourselves with too much, and its best to go slowly along this path.

If any of you would like to add anything to our tools list please feel free, after all this is a networking place for eco batik.


10 comments:

Joei Rhode Island said...

Looks like I'll need another area in the studio for wax and heat. I think this will be a fun adventure and slow sounds good to me.

jude said...

oh this is going to be great! i would never have thought of boots.

anna rice[ant] said...

okay, you've lured me in, i'm hooked! have done a lot of shibori, et al type dyeing, may as well jump into batiking - I did try it once long time ago, ended up having to have marble tub refinished as that's what I and friend used to try to wash wax out...husband[at that time] was NOT happy when he saw what we did to the tub...lolol

the photo, img of long piece, is what hooked me on this idea - that piece, well all the pieces I viewed on flicker are gorgeous!
ant

t said...

hello joei, jude, and anna.

A dedicated area to wax would be good joei, but is not a real necessity. I tend to work outside with was a bit, you need good light.In winter I line the floor and splash areas with old newspapers and work next to the slow combustion stove. In summer I have this little electric hot plate that runs off the solar power and so I can pick any area I like to work. Its good to keep out of the wind.

Yes, jude boots. When I was in Indonesia they do not wear boots when working with hot wax, but they are very skilled with the wax too.

Anna, your tub sounds like it was great to wash the wax out, real pitty about the marble surface. Glad to have you aboard, and thanks for your compliments.

xt

Yvette said...

I don't understand nr.5

kaiteM said...

hi T, i think i remember using an old frypan once, the electric type which could be turned down low.
my 2c worth, kaite.

Penny Berens said...

Oh, I can't wait to get started. Thank you for sharing.

t said...

yvette i will photograph no. 5 for you tomorrow.

kaite, yes an old electric frypan would be good.

thanks

xt

Julia Moore said...

Hi T. In basic batik classes I have taught, my students loved working with stamps. I make stamps out of anything that will work: the heavy paper cores left when masking tape runs out, toilet paper tubes with cuts in the end to make various patterns, some cookie cutters, mashed potato mashers, various slabs of wood or cardboard to make thick or thin lines, spools, forks, metal candle holders, metal candle making forms, dipped yarn and string, and the list goes on and on. The trick with most stamps is to blot the hot waxed stamp first on a scrap of paper, then onto the fabric so the impression will come out clear instead of creating a blob. Practice makes for good results. I have also tried sewing heavy felt on the bottoms of some metal stamp shapes, so the wax disperses evenly when applied to the fabric.

t said...

Was going to get into the simple stuff first Julia, then get into stamps and wood blocks a little later in the blog. You are right though, they are tricky to hold and not drip onto the fabric.

Will discuss them further down the road.

xt