The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1920-04-23
The Making OF Batik

Buddha wore batik one thousand
and three hundred years ago. This
information has been waited to west
ern studios, and artists and designers
are doing marathons around museums
and libraries to copy the patterns
from his statued and painted robes,
with more or less success, with which
&c feed the hungry matik admirers. It
is being used in gowns, nantes, bags,
draperies, and even underwear is not
i1nmune as long as the purchaser can
pay the price.
Java is the real home of batik and
the sarongs and standings of women's
daily wear are joy to the artistic
sense of the beholders Making batik
materials is just one of the everyday
household jobs of Javanese women,
the designs used in many instances
having been handed down for gener-
aticns and only changed in color By
the fancy of the maker.
The designs are first drawn on the
material with charcoal, on both sides,
and then they are covered with
melted beeswax. After the wax is
hard and cold the material is dipped
IL the dye. When dry the wax is
scraped off or melted Off with hot
water, and other patterns are added.
the process being repeated. This
manner of producing patterned ma
terjals is known to professional dyers
rs wax resist"
Styles in Java do not change as
they do in our country. The brief
garments are replaced, only when
worn out, by new ones in the same
design, though possibly of another
color.
In the event of some enthusiast de-
string a batik in real native fashion
let them proceed after the following
method:
Wash the material to be used in
cold water if on cotton or wool, then
soak it several days in cocoanut oil
The oil is then boiled out in water
containing the ashes of burnt rice
stalks. When dry the edges are
trimmed and hemmed The goods is
then starched with rice cruel starch,
the material is dyed and rolled up,
and pounded well with a rice pastle,
and it is then ready for the designs
and the dyes. The term batik is taken
from the word "batek," a Javanese
word, meaning to paint in wax"
Batik is not to be learned in a day,
and it is quite likely that the first eff
forts may prove unsuccessful, but
with the real thing selling in the
1,eighborhood of SIS for a yard, or
sarong, it is temptation to try our
luck at least once.
Think of a whole family sitting
around the rice table all dressed alike
The garments beautifully batiked, but
all alike as though mother had bought
bolt at bargain SALE The cracked
effect over the surface of the goods
broken with shaded colored stripes is
quite as beautiful as the more elab-
crate patterns.
All interesting sets of draperies
with table cover to match, was seen
at studio recently in the process of
making The material was a cream
white pongee with batik border of
black with lions in the natural color
walking across from the outside to
the center. The lions were crackled-
which is done by cracking the wax
and letting a tiny liny of dye ooze
through on to the goods. This gives
a marbelized effect which is very
decorative in patterns of this kind
Persian patterns are used in native
colorings, especially in border decora-
ton on plain materials, and large con
ventionalized flowers are done or
chiffon scarfs, which are afterward
dyed in shaded fashion, so that the
dc sign is almost lost in the paler
shadings, only to be found again in
the darker spots.