Lesson 1: Highs and Woes of Fabric Choice

The first thing to understand about choosing the proper fabric for batik is to understand a little something about the dyes and the dying process.

1. Types of Dye Processes:
There are basically three major types of dye; acid dyes which require hot water to bond the dye to the fibers, silk dyes which require either steam or chemicals for bonding, and ProMX cold water FRD dyes which require chemicals to affix the colors. Basically, Batik requires a non-heat activated dye, or in this case, a fiber reactive dye (FRD). Any heat process will weaken or melt the wax that blocks the dye and is not a suitable process for batik. For batik, cold water FRD dyes are the obvious option. Typically, FRDs bond with silk or plant fibers.

2. Types of Fibers:
The next thing to understand are the major types of fibers: synthetic, silk, plant (cellulose), and animal (protein).

Inappropriate Fibers for Batik:
Synthetic fibers I do not know much about except that each fiber requires a different process; rayon uses dispersion dyes and nylon requires acid, dispersion, and pigment dyes. YAWN, I am bored already.

Examples of the major protein fibers requiring a heat dying process are wool, angora, mohair, cashmere, silk, soy, leather, and suede.

Fibers Appropriate for Batik:
Silk is wonderful in that it responds to both heat (more brilliant) and chemical dying processes (less brilliant). It is neither a synthetic, cellulose, or protein fiber. It is unique by itself. Last year, I picked up a bolt of beautiful unbleached rough silk at a garage sale with a history that enthralled and inspired me. The seller's father had brought back the silk from Japan during WWII for her mom. The silk's origin and ancient history expresses itself beautifully in an antique color palette. Without revealing my finished pieces to soon and too fast, I will someday soon post my Arts and Crafts inspired William Morris silk pelicans and my Royal Peon silk peacock.

Cellulose fibers include cotton, linen, hemp, ramie, bamboo, rayon, and muslin. My first naive MISTAKE was in believing that these fibers would all yield the same or similar results to each other. I LOVED the idea of using bamboo. The initial colors were brilliant... lovely... and then they washed out to a pale representation of what they could have been. (see Mermaid and the Fish, left) Again, I fell back onto my magic markers to brighten my results.

After that, I decided that maybe I needed to better investigate my materials. I ordered a swatch-sampler package of over 50 different cellulose fibers from Dharma Trading Company. I handcarved the work "Batik" out of florist foam and industriously stamped it on each swatch (with the Dharma fabric code). I subjected all the samples to a single dye bath and was amazed at the huge variations in depth and vibrancy of color (more recent tests to the right).

3. Where to buy your fabric:
I've bought my fabrics from many places; the GOOD, Dharma Trading Company; the BAD, popularized commercial chain fabric stores; the BEST, seek out specialized fabric stores in your area who buy high-quality lots and know their fabrics like they are best friends (for me, Feminine Touch Fabrics, Syracuse).

4. How to prepare your fabrics:
It is recommended to pre-wash the fabric to remove any dirt, grease, and starch.

Pre-washing in Synthrapol or detergent helps remove invisible lubricants, fingerprints, dirt, oils, silk worm gum, and other impurities that can interfere with the dye absorption and cause uneven results. It is especially important for tub dyeing when you want an even, consistent dye job.

Not pre-washing is one of the biggest causes of "splotchy" results. Even PFD (prepared for dyeing) fabrics should be pre-washed.

Do I pre-wash my fabrics? LOL. Only when I remember. If you should though, a WISE thing to do is to clip the corners off the fabric to remind you that the fabric has been pre-washed.

5. Texture of the fabric:
Who would have thought that texture could have such a big effect on results? Well, I guess I should have!!!

Fabrics with heavy texture, such as linens (top left), seem to have more difficulty holding the wax, maybe because heavy fibers extend in multiple directions and prohibits the wax from absorbing equally. Maybe because its thickness is greater than that of other fabrics, such as cotton, silk, or muslin. Linen seems to want to bleed more.

You need to choose your fabric to suit the style of your design. A batik that requires clean, sharp lines benefits from thinner fabrics with finer texture (bottom left), such as cotton.

Do not discount linen though. The dyes spread beautifully for a watercolor technique or soft blends on an interestingly patterned surface. Its harsher texture can even create drama. (see Geisha, right)

I have so much to learn, and am eager to do so. If you should play around with batik, I hope you will share what you learn. Challenge yourselves! And have fun!