BATIK AND OTHER
PATTERN DYEING
BY
WALTER DAVIS BAKER
AND
IDA STRAWN BAKER
OF
THE WALDCRAFT STUDIOS
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
[Decoration]
1920
ATKINSON, MENTZER & COMPANY
CHICAGO
COPYRIGHT 1920 BY
ATKINSON, MENTZER & COMPANY
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
THE CONTENTS
I
History and Character of Batiks 11
II
The Principles of Dyeing Fabrics 35
III
Wax Resist Processes 54
IV
Batiks and Other Illuminated Textiles 75
V
Dyeing for Plays and Pageants 97
VI
Tie-Dyed Work 109
VII
Stick Printing, Block Printing and Stencil Dyeing 123
THE PREFACE
One of the hopeful observations during the few years of applied art
education in our schools has been the readiness with which educators
have taken up and kept problems in which the mediums of expression
were practical and efficient, suitable for the purpose intended, and
the equal readiness with which they have dropped other problems.
The burning of wood as a means of decoration did not stand this test,
therefore it had to go. Oil paint is not a suitable medium to decorate
textiles, therefore it too has nearly fallen from use.
The value of applied art to home and community rests upon the test,
whether the pupil who works out the problems becomes by virtue thereof
a more useful and cultured individual in the home and in the social
and industrial life of the community.
A problem which satisfies this test becomes a basic problem. To a
pupil who has once bound a book with its cover design, end papers,
etc., a book is a different thing ever after. He becomes a more
intelligent and cultured member of the consuming public so far as
books are concerned. To the demands of many such members the book
binders respond with better things. Therefore book binding is a basic
problem.
Similar reasoning applies when a student weaves a fabric, plans and
makes an article of dress, a toy, a silver ring, or a poster.
No one will dispute that the all-over dyeing of a fabric, and the
decoration of a textile with a dyed pattern, are basic problems. The
recent war brought home the vital place that dyes hold in the life of
the people.
As suitable materials have become available teachers have been eager
to learn and use these problems.
It is seldom that an applied problem comes to the art teacher that
offers in so full a measure the essential features of a basic problem
as does batik work, which involves both all-over and pattern dyeing.
The mechanical process is rather simple and offers no especial
difficulty, requiring only the painstaking care that good teachers
exact from pupils.
The design element involved may be simple or elaborate, fitted to the
capacity of the pupil. It is a real problem in design, however,
allowing great freedom yet carrying with it the discipline of a later
test, viz., applied expression within the limitations of definite
mediums.
As the process controls the entire surface, the pupil is directed to
plan his design and ground areas both in space and color relations.
The mediums used are fabrics and dyes, both inseparably involved in
education as they are in life. The pupil must plan for the use
intended and also for the particular type of individual or scheme of
decoration.
The work carries with it all along the anticipation of results; and
the beautiful finished piece is the reward of effort. What more could
be desired in an applied school problem?
The endeavor and the hope in presenting this little book on "Batik and
Other Pattern Dyeing" is to help those who are learning to undertake
these problems with breadth of thought and efficiency of method.
THE AUTHORS.
Indianapolis, Indiana.
[Illustration: {BATIK DESIGN} {p. 6}]
THE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors are pleased to express grateful indebtedness to a number
of friends in Indianapolis.
To Miss Roda E. Selleck, Shortridge High School, for her advanced high
school projects in the development and application of batik designs;
also in the application of tie-dyeing and blown stenciling.
To Miss Carolyn S. Ashbrook, Shortridge High School, for her projects
with an elementary high school class.
To Miss Olive Rush, who designed and executed "The Capture" for the
frontispiece.
To Miss Blanche Stillson for assistance in illustrating the wax resist
processes; also for her designs, the blouse, page 80, and the pattern,
page 87.
To Mr. Charles E. Rush, Librarian of the Public Library, for securing
valuable publications of the Dutch Government.
To Mr. George Somnes, Director of The Little Theater, and Mrs. Eugene
Fife, Little Theater, for their work revealed in Chapter V.
For the loan of old textiles, Miss Eliza Niblack, Curator of Textiles,
John Herron Art Institute, the sarong, page 76, and the chundri, page
110; Mrs. Clifton A. Wheeler, the Javanese patterns, page 95; Mrs.
William O. Bates, the sarong design used for the end papers; Miss
Florence Fitch, Director of Art, Public Schools, the Indian block
printing, page 126.
For permission to photograph their own handicraft, Miss Mary Overbeck
(Cambridge City, Ind.) the tie-dyed patterns, pages 113 and 115; Mrs.
James Thompson, the costume jewelry, page 78, and the tie-dyed scarf,
page 115; Mrs. J. R. Brant, the blouse, page 82; Miss Mary Janet
O'Reilly, the camisole, page 78.
[Illustration: {BATIK DESIGN} {p. 8}]
Now what I want to do is to put definitely before you a cause
for which to strive. That cause is the Democracy of Art, the
ennobling of daily and common work, which will one day put hope
and pleasure in the place of fear and pain as the forces which
move men to labor and keep the world a-going.
·····William Morris
[Illustration: "THE CAPTURE," BY OLIVE RUSH {p. 10}]
CHAPTER I
HISTORY AND CHARACTER OF BATIKS
Textile art is one of the oldest arts known to man. Personal adornment
was perhaps the first attempt at expressing beauty. Costume designing
and textile industries are still most vital movements in the artistic
development of the people.
[Illustration: {BUDDHA STATUE} {p. 11}]
Asia is the great mother of beauty in textile decoration. We do not
talk or write about textiles without using the words of her ancient
peoples.
"Batik"--this ancient Asiatic word--is one of the oldest crafts of the
Orient. In India, Java and Japan the highest technique is reached.
These people have made a great art of costuming. Each caste, religion
and festival requires its special garment.
From the historic days when Columbus searched vainly for a shorter way
to the fabled riches of the East Indies until the way was found, these
treasure islands held the possessions most coveted by the Western
World.
More than a thousand years before this time, the neighboring Hindus
came to these rich islands bringing with them religious teachers,
road makers and skilled craftsmen. Many expeditions fastened upon the
native tribes the religion and culture of the older and more civilized
country.
While the Spanish, Portuguese and English adventurers were discovering
new lands and claiming them for their kings, the Dutch sailors carried
to and fro the produce of the world. The Netherland warehouses were
filled with treasures of the Orient.
Keeping pace with its industry were the universities and the common
schools. The records and drawings of Dutch scholars disclose so much
detailed information upon the handicraft industries of the day that
the recent revival of batik is traced to their genius.
Books issued by the Dutch Government to promote the batik craft,
picture Javanese women and girls seated upon fiber mats before a
vertical frame upon which the material is hung for the execution of
their art. Men too are at work printing and dyeing these fabrics.
Housewives in staid processionals display the occupation. Princes and
fine ladies disport their gorgeous costumes. Priests climbing the
steps of their temples past the long rows of their sacred gods are
resplendent in batik array. Their oldest gods are clothed in
sculptured batik.
Designs of great beauty and skilled execution enrich the pages of
these rare volumes.
Among the Dutch people much effort has been made to promote this art.
Native designs have been fostered and the modifications have been in
demand for European trade.
[Illustration: COSTUME OF AN UPPER CLASS JAVANESE WOMAN {p. 13}]
The American adaptation of batik has followed closely upon the
European revival.
The Chinese, however, have control of the industry in Java. They
employ natives at low wage to make batiks. The home occupation that
took no account of time or pains is dying out. In a few years the
products of this infinitely better craft will be found only in museums
and in the possession of collectors. Under Chinese management batik
making has become the leading occupation.
Batik is a method of drawing or painting with wax upon a fabric, after
which the material is dyed and the wax removed. The result of this
process is a decoration in silhouette upon the dyed background of the
goods.
The wax generally used in Java is hot beeswax or a vegetable wax
imported from Japan. The wax is removed by scraping and melting. The
waxing is repeated as many times as there are colors in the design.
The process is long and tedious and often requires months.
Formerly the colors were native vegetable dyes. The most common were
indigo, mango tree bark and madder. These colors have fallen into
disuse, artificial dyes having replaced them.
The wax resists the action of the dye-bath except where it cracks.
Here the dye creeps in, producing the characteristic "crackle" of
batik work. The Oriental craftsman never forces crackle. With him it
is always an incident, the subtle accident of his handicraft.
[Illustration: JAVANESE WOMAN ENGAGED IN BATIK DECORATION {p. 15}]
The nature of the process forces simple execution in waxing the shapes
and outlines, and also limits the number of times the piece may be
dyed. Applying the wax becomes increasingly difficult after each
dipping. Spotting of color over the entire piece makes thinking in
color as important as the painting in of the wax.
The Oriental process of dyeing is the reverse of the American, in that
it applies the darkest colors first. This necessitates previous waxing
over parts to be kept light and also the removal of the wax and an
entire new waxing after each dyeing. The American method is to dye the
lightest colors first and build up the deeper colors. Between dyeings
the old waxing is repaired and additional areas waxed.
The "sarong," worn by Javanese natives, is a skirt-like piece of goods
about the size and proportion of a window curtain. This garment falls
from the waist, or above it, to the feet. The fabric is cheap cotton
manufactured in Holland or England. The color and decoration of the
sarong is influenced by caste and religion. The feudal framework of
Javanese society has given much significance to rank.
The women add to the sarong a "kemban." This garment is not unlike a
blouse without shoulder supports or sleeves. The kemban is wound
tightly about the body under the arms. The drapery covers the upper
part of the sarong.
The "slendang" completes the wearing apparel of the women. It is a
scarf worn for adornment or useful for carrying the youngest child, or
other burdens.
The Javanese man wears the sarong in the same manner as the women,
which leads the foreigner to awkward misunderstandings. His long hair
is done on the top of his head and bound around with a "sarong
kapala." This head dress is tied at the nape of the neck. The sarong
kapala is square, and when fitted is starched and shaped to the head.
[Illustration: JAVANESE NATIVES DYEING BATIKS {p. 17}]
Among the poorer classes these garments are plain, usually dark blue,
for daily wear, but on occasions they are vivid with color
decorations.
The native worker prepares his cotton goods by soaking in oil,
afterwards in lye. This process is repeated until the material is
softened and a pleasing yellow gray.
Hand decoration is done by women. The material is hung over an upright
frame. The hand supports the goods, and the molten wax is applied to
the design. They use a funnel-like cup with a bamboo handle. The wax
trickles slowly through the slender tube, and with this the outline is
made. This instrument is called a "tjanting." There is no right or
wrong side of this fabric, as the waxing is done on both sides. To
cover large surfaces with wax, they use a brush. These women have
acquired a high degree of skill through repetition of the same design
on the same kind of garment.
The wooden frame over which the goods are fastened is moveable. The
wax is melted over an earthen heater with an open side, into which the
ends of long sticks are thrust for burning.
[Illustration: JAVANESE MAN DECORATING A SARONG WITH A TJAP {p. 19}]
Although the tjanting is the more desired and versatile device for
applying wax, the men wax batiks with "tjaps." The tjap is a wooden
block with designs of metal insert. The craftsman sits on a low stool
in front of an inclined table over which the goods are smoothly
spread. The bottom of a shallow pan is covered with wax, heated in the
same manner as for the tjanting. An absorbent pad is placed in the
pan, the tjap is pressed on the pad and imprinted on the fabric. The
fabric is then turned and, with another tjap made like the first
except with its symmetry reversed, wax imprints are made in exactly
the same places. This insures good waxing on both sides of the fabric.
The piece is then ready for the dye.
[Illustration: JAVANESE BATIK TOOLS {p. 20}]
Sometimes a set of many tjaps is used to work out a pattern for a
sarong or other garment. The making of these tjaps is the laborious
and expensive work of experts. Of course we may expect to find many
repetitions of such patterns, differing from one another only in the
accidents of dyeing.
Frequently different methods of applying wax are used in the same
decoration. Freehand work with the tjanting and brush on fine pieces
serve to take away from the mechanical reproduction of tjap designs.
The decoration of the end papers of this book, taken from a fine old
sarong, affords an interesting study.
The most artistic and highly regarded effects in batiks among the
Japanese workers are executed as they are in America today, _i.e._,
the wax is applied with a brush and is as free from mechanical aids as
painting.
Pieter Mijer, in "Batiks and How to Make Them," published by Dodd Mead
& Company, New York, writes of the modern development of batiks in
Holland. The artists who have stimulated the present interest are Cris
Lebeau, Dijesselhof and Lion Cachet. The illustrations of their work
have a charm and individuality worthy of the highest respect. The
author's own piece shown in the same group does not lose by
comparison.
This book is also rich in valuable instruction and other illustrations
of batiks, showing high American standards of the craft.
Batik adaptation in America is without tradition, and is an outgrowth
of youth and enthusiasm caught up and carried on the high tide of
progress and opportunity. The real significance of its popularity
reaches backward into the necessity that confronted workers in textile
designing after Europe was caught in the maelstrom of war.
The textile manufacturer has quickly adapted batik designs, indeed the
artist working in batiks feels a close kinship to textile industry.
Batik decoration is free from limitations that restrict mechanical
printing. In designing fabrics for the ordinary methods of mechanical
reproduction, where great yardage is produced, the designer consults
an average taste; whereas in batiks each piece is definitely designed
with a particular setting or individual in view. There is no
necessity for much repetition of any design, nor indeed can exact copy
ever be made.
The first enthusiasm of the worker in batiks is apt to find expression
in a burst of color run riot, of "crackle craze," with too little
attention paid to design. But this soon gives way, as it should, to
more conservative expression in which design is the controlling
element, and the art comes to its own as a method of subtle and
beautiful illumination of textiles.
[Illustration: {BATIK DESIGN} {p. 22}]
[Illustration: OLD BATIK DESIGN {p. 23}]
[Illustration: OLD BATIK DESIGN {p. 24}]
[Illustration: OLD BATIK DESIGN {p. 25}]
[Illustration: OLD BATIK DESIGN {p. 26}]
[Illustration: OLD BATIK DESIGNS {p. 27}]
[Illustration: OLD BATIK DESIGNS {p. 28}]
[Illustration: OLD BATIK DESIGNS {p. 29}]
[Illustration: OLD BATIK DESIGNS {p. 30}]
[Illustration: OLD BATIK DESIGNS {p. 31}]
[Illustration: OLD BATIK DESIGNS {p. 32}]
[Illustration: OLD BATIK DESIGNS {p. 33}]
[Illustration: OLD BATIK DESIGNS {p. 34}]