for the inital batiking process, i bought some resinous stuff, that squirts on the fabric like puffy paint. there are no directions on it. i imagine i squeeze it on and leave it to dry. then follow jaquard directions for a simple dye. then wash out and iron, to remove the resin? what are your batik methods? has anyone done that kind of dying where they take color OUT of clothing? i imagine it works kinda like bleach; the images i've seen look pretty cool. any words of wisdom would be groovy!!! thanks.
The way I've always done batik: Use natural fabric (cotton, hemp). Melt some regular candle wax, i prefer beeswax. With a shape, ie cookie cutter, dip in hot melted wax and quickly apply to fabric. Let harden, then dye fabric. Once dried completely, lay fabric flat, and lay a piece of cloth on top of wax, iron off. It'll leave a 'tie dyed' pattern behind.
Kayte, you are referring to "discharge dye." start a thread with that title and I'll answer there, to keep the techniques separate. you seem to have purchased a gutta resist, am I correct? the bottle SHOULD have instructions, or call RGS for help (assuming you bought from Rupert Gibbon and Spyder or a retailer with their stuff /Jacquard) the down side to liquid resuists is you don't get the crackle effect (which is what I think C meant) a really cheap one is starch, btw. I like tjintangs and paste resist. I have been known to "paint" in the crakle on some peices with a fine brush and thickened dye.
ive always done the wax method...but with paraffin wax not beeswax, it'sjust a lot easier to work with. and you cand pretty much use any found object that you like the texture and/or shape of to use to apply the wax. another cool way is the 'drip method'. all you do is have a candle thats been lit for a while and the wax is liquid...and just take it and drip randomly over the fabric...and kinda splatter it. just make sure your wax is always realllly hot, cause it wont work other wise. then after you've got your wax on, dye it, then rinse it out really good in cold water. and keep reduing this process with different colored dyes till your done. and then do the ironing thing to get all the wax off. i learned how to batik from a teeny little book from the early 60's from the library... so id check out your local library for more detailed instructions.
