Batik and indigo dyeing

Hanging out to dry…

While we were in Bali over the July/winter holidays (sorry, not sorry…) I signed myself up for a batik and indigo dyeing workshop at Threads of Life in Ubud.

SO MUCH FUN.

Also…so much to ponder in relation to possible applications in my work.

It is funny how sometimes you want to do something for so long, but there is a perception of a barrier that holds you back, some sticking point that always means that this thing is shoved into the ‘too hard basket’.

For me, with batik, the ‘too-hard thing’ was the process of removing the wax resist from the fabric. I just always assumed it was really time-consuming, or difficult, or it just seemed weird and icky. I even went so far as to buy some rice-paste dye resist (still not used either btw…) that I thought might be easier to remove.

Turns out, removing the wax is easy! (…with the right ingredients - soda ash in the hot water makes it faster…)

Achieving some kind of accuracy with the hot wax may be another thing…

Armed with my new batik knowledge, I can’t wait to start some experiments with dyes and resists for my embroidery fabrics (maybe once the weather gets a bit more ‘outdoor-activity-friendly’…)