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Making Batik

The Basic Batik Making Process Explained

Essentially, there are 7 stages involved in making batik. These are explained below using their Javanese names, with particular reference to the batik in the picture. You can follow the stages in the picture – top row right to left, then bottom row right to left.

You can also view a video of Batik being made on our Product Videos page.

Stage 1: Nglowong (Design and drawing).
This is the first application of wax to undyed cloth. A pattern is drawn onto the cloth in liquefied wax using a cap (stamp) and/or a canting (hand drawing tool). The process is carried out in two steps, the ‘ngengreng’, drawing on one side of the cloth, followed by ‘nerusi’, repeating the design on the reverse side. These 2 steps will be carried out again later in the process.

Stage 2: Nembok (Wax covering).
Those parts of the design that are not to be coloured are covered thickly with wax. The aim is to create a wall of wax to prevent dye running through to the wrong parts of the design and ruining the whole batik. This application of wax should be sticky and flexible so that it does not crack when it is lowered into the dyeing vats. It is quite different from the first application (nglowong), where stickiness is undesirable.

Stage 3: Medel (Blue dyeing – the first steeping).
The first dyeing gives the cloth a dark blue colour. (This refers to the batik in the picture: obviously, the colours would be different in other batik designs.) When natural dyes are used, usually from plants, the steeping process may take days, with the cloth being repeatedly dyed then air dried until the desired shade of colour is achieved. Chemical dyeing is quicker. Some of our batik tulis items have natural dyes.

Stage 4: Ngerok (Partial wax removal).
Once the required shade of blue is obtained, the wax layer on those parts that are to be dyed with the next colour (brown in our case) is scraped off with a dull knife.

Stage 5: Mbironi (Third application of wax).
This involves covering those parts of the design that should remain blue while leaving the parts to be dyed brown uncovered. This step is carried out on both sides of the cloth.

Stage 6: Nyoga (Second steeping).
The cloth is steeped in dye, as in stage 3. In this case the dye is a traditional Javanese brown dye.

The above stages may be repeated many times in order to achieve the desired end pattern and combination of colours. The process then moves to its final stage.

Stage 7: Nglorod. (Wax removal using boiling water).
All the wax remaining on the cloth is removed by rinsing it in boiling water until the wax runs off. This boiling process means that genuine batik can only be produced on natural fibre materials such as cotton, rayon and silk. Synthetic materials cannot be used.

Genuine new batik may have wax residues visible. These will disappear during the first wash.

Finally, please bear in mind that the above description is a basic process only. Variations can occur depending on the complexity of the design and the cloth material used.

 

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our products, or anything else, please email us at info@javaconnection.co.uk and we will be happy to provide more information.