Let’s Learn to Make Bali Batik!

The love of Balinese people who wear batik when there are religious ceremonies makes the Bali batik industry increasingly developed and developing quite well, especially the wishes of foreign and domestic tourists who want to get and know this local craft. Making his development continues to improve, although the development of batik in Bali is relatively new compared to other regions such as Pekalongan, the results of batik handicraft production on the island is quite well-known, parallel to batik producers from other regions.

The process of making Balinese Batik

In making batik, you need to prepare the following materials and tools:

• Mori cloth (from cotton or silk is ok)
• Canting to make or form motifs
• A place to attach the cloth
• Melted candles (night)
• A stove (small one) and pot and for heating
• Coloring Solution

The ways to make Bali batik

The following are the steps in in making Bali batik:

The first step is making the designs of Bali batik commonly known as molani. To determine your best motives, every person usually has different favourite tastes. Some of them will make the beautiful motives of theirs, but the other people will follow the common motives which they have known. In Indonesia itself, motifs that are usually choose and used are classic batik, which plays symbols a lot, and coastal batik with good, natural, and simple characteristics like butterfly and flower pictures. Making designs or motifs, you may utilize a pencil.

After completing molany, the next way is painting by using a wax the night using a canting (held/attached) and follow the pattern.

The next step, cover the parts which will give white (not colored) with wax. Cant for smooth parts, or brush the parts larger. The purpose is that when dipping the material into the coloring solution, the part that is given a waxy layer is not affected.

The next stage, the first process of coloring is by dipping the part or cloth without wax in a chosen color.

After dipping, the cloth is dried and dried.

After drying, the process of batik is done again which is painting by using canting with a wax to cover the part that will be retained at the first process of coloring.

Then, proceed with the next color dyeing process.

The next process is removing wax from the cloth by placing the cloth with hot water on the furnace.

After the cloth is clean from wax, then, dry, the batik process can be done again by closing the wax (of course, use a canting tool) to hold the color (the first and second choice)

The opening process and also closing process a night candle can be repeated repeatedly according to the color quantity and the chosen motif complexity.

The next process is boiling, where the cloth that has changed color is boiled with the perfect hot water. Its aim is for removing the waxy layer so that the motifs that have been drawn before are clearly visible. You should not worry, this dyeing will not affect the motif you have drawn color, because the fabric top is still covered in the layer thinner (the wax completely does not fade). After completion, you can use the batik.

The final process is washing the Bali batik cloth and then drying it by drying it before you use and wear it.