Umyang Batik Art to Wear

Here are a few samples of some of the work we have done over the years.



This one shows 3 samples of T shirts. We used the technique of batik. That is using melted wax which is applied to cloth before being dipped in dye or the design painted in. Wherever the wax has seeped through the fabric, the dye will not penetrate. Sometimes several colors are used, with a series of dyeing, drying and waxing steps.

The thin wax lines are made with a tjanting (canting, pronounced chahn-ting) needle, a wooden-handled tool with a tiny metal cup with a tiny spout, out of which the wax seeps.

After the last dyeing, the fabric or t-shirt is hung up to dry for at least 5 hours. Then it is dipped in a solvent to dissolve the wax, or placed in a vat of boiling water, or ironed between paper towels or newspapers to absorb the wax and reveal the deep rich colors and the fine crinkle lines that give batik its character.