What is Batik?

Malaysian batik is batik textile art in Malaysia, especially on the east coast of Malaysia (Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang). The most popular motifs are leaves and flowers. 

Malaysian batik usually focuses on floral motifs from nature surrounding the tropics or geometric patterns. Malaysian batik is also more vibrant in color with pinks, blues, and purples.

Malaysian batik fabrics do have an international edge because they have brighter hues and more versatile patterns. In Malaysia, there are two major types of batik – hand-drawn batik and stamped batik.

Unique appearance

The uniqueness of this Batik Malaysia is its geometric, designed by the villagers and their motifs are influenced by the colors of their lives there. And they are produced in small barns and use traditional methods to maintain their authenticity.

Different to the common printed Batik (one design could be produced to many quantities), the hand-painted design is exclusive, non-repetitive and never-ending, which means wearing this hand-painted batik is the only one pattern (design) in the world.

           Batik can be worn for formal events as well as hanging out for a cup of coffee with friends. This garment is universal in its use and can transform to suit your needs with just a little bit of styling.

The word “batik” itself translates to a technique of hand dying fabrics with dye repellant wax to create unique designs on fabrics. Originated in the Javanese culture, a spouted tool called “canting” is used to make dots or lines with the dye resistant wax.

The wax is also applied to block printing stamps called “cap” when the artist would like to create repetitive designs.

There are four types of batik; batik blok, batik lukis, batik skrin, batik tie dye.

1.     Batik lukis is hand-drawn with a tool called canting. The canting is a little copper or brass pot with a long handle. It has a little spout from where the melted wax lets out and drops onto the cloth for a more detailed batik drawing often done freehand. 

2.     Batik blok is a stamping process which the tool is made out of zinc or copper where the pattern is on one side of the tool. The patterned side is then dipped into the melted wax and stamped onto the cloth in a repetitive pattern.

3. Batik skrin is screen printed batik with the use of stencils. These stencils were introduced in 1939 in Kelantan by Mohammad Yusof Bin Hj. Che’ Su and Mohammad Daud Bin Hj. Che’ Su. This type of batik is faster and easier to produce and an upcoming batik trend in Malaysia. However, to do so, one must have a keen eye for details to make sure that the patterns align. 

4. Batik tie dye if often confused with regular tie dye. Where in regular tie dye, the cloth is     rolled and tied up with rubber bands, batik tie dye is done with wax. Parts of the cloth with be covered with melted wax and dyed. This will be done repeated until the desired pattern is achieved.

Look at the quality of the fabric:

Buyers are also encouraged to closely study the fabric, especially if they are looking to purchase the more traditional prints that are hand-painted. The batik printing will not be as perfect as one would imagine. Sometimes dots can be uneven or lines may vary in thickness and opacity.

Some would even suggest that the buyer smell the garment before purchasing as batik on cotton has an almost earthy scent to it after all the processing. Other than earthy, others have described the scent as sweet (if beeswax has been used) or simply like the smell of a box of crayons.

Fabrics of different qualities and structures are used in batik production.  Various fabrics are used including cotton, viscose, rayon, linen, voile and silk. These fabrics are patterned with floral and geometrical motifs, arranged in various layouts as dictated by current trends.

Industrially produced textiles have to be boiled or washed in order to remove finish and other residues before waxing and colouring can be take place.

Can batik fabric be washed, and how?

Now this entirely depends on the type of material your batik is made from. If it is on 100% silk material, it is highly advised to dry clean your garment.

If your batik is made with cotton or rayon, you can sort the washing at home. If it is a ready-to-wear item, that means that the cloth has already been pre-washed. Batik on cotton material will have a little bit of shrinkage as the pores of the material will tighten up. 

To wash batik on cotton, the best way to clean it is by giving it a cold hand rinse. 

Using a gentle soap will help it react minimally with the dyes. Nonetheless, remember to watch for colors running. It’ll be best for you to wash your batik separately or with garments of similar color. 

To dry, you can simply hang it up or lay it flat under a shady area far away from direct sunlight. Exposure to direct sunlight will also cause the colors to fade. 

To remove the excess water, lightly rub the material together as wringing it might damage it.

After many washes, you might find your fabric looking slightly faded, giving it an almost vintage feel. As handmade batik colors are not color fast, this is unfortunately unavoidable but it does add to the beauty of the garment.

Can I machine wash batik?

Yes, you can definitely machine wash batik fabric. We advise for you to use a gentle cycle with cold water. You should never use any bleach or harsh detergents with your batik fabric as this will directly affect its colors.

As some handmade batik are prone to the colors running, it is best to use a color catcher in the same cycle with the batik. This is to ensure that if the colors do run, it will not damage the other items that are in the wash.

However, hand-washing will be the best method to wash your garment. It will help preserve the colour from fading quickly and keep the garment in better shape altogether.

The price of each ingredient can also affect the mixture. The mixture used for block prints tends to be cheaper than that used for hand-painted silks.

The value of a batik is determined by the length of time taken to produce it. There are two different types of batik: batik tulis, which literally means “written batik” and batik cap (stamped batik). Of these two, batik tulis is more costly as it requires a lot of patience and persistence to produce it.

The easiest way to identify a handmade batik is to look at the reverse side of the fabric. The reverse side of a printed batik is visibly faded as only one side of the fabric is printed on. On the other hand, the colour of a hand drawn batik tulis is consistent on both sides as the fabric is immersed into a vat of dye.