Monday, October 17, 2011

batik: the beginning

Christi, April + I set out to create our own fabric over the course of a month. With careful attention to detail + talents we never knew we had, we excelled and decided to start our own batik company. No, not really...I would say Christi excelled, and April + I pretty much met our own expectations for our abilities. Nevertheless, a good time was had by all and I thought I should share the joy of batik with my lovelies! So here we go...in a FOUR PART series :):

batik- is a cloth that traditionally uses a manual wax-resist dyeing technique. Batik or fabrics with the traditional batik patterns are found in (particularly) Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, China, Azerbaijan, India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, and Singapore. (and Rwanda!...Wikipedia...how could you forget Rwanda!)

Step 1: {Creating Your Design + Stamp(s)}
Like I said, Christi excelled...she even brought graph paper...and a ruler
Yay! I didn't cut my finger tips off while cutting our my stencil!
April traces her design onto foam in order to cut it into the stamp below.
Or...a powder applicator
Francois, April + myself...wonderful teacher + wonderful company
and then...more razor blade action...leaving behind only what I would like to remain white on my cloth
More of Christi excelling...
Perfection!

Stay tuned for Step 2: Wax Stamping!

Much love,
Emily Elizabeth

1 comment:

  1. I am so not surprised that Christi used graph paper and a ruler. I was with her the day she changed a bed into a desk, and profited from the results when she changed a blue band margarine tub into a hand shower-basin.

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