A batik junkie saying hello.

[Lenora Of The Mice]

Hello, my name is amber and I am a... batik junkie. Fiber arts, dyeing methods all fascinate me to no end. I like emphasis on the art of the dyeing, less than the range of pretty colors you can get through application. It's fine to tie-dye a t-shirt,but it just seems a little like a children's arts and crafts project to me. Of course I could just be being elitist.

I have to go to sleep now, it's getting rather late, but if anyone needs information on batik or shibori, I'm very into those two. I may be able to help your wiki or your gallery find some things it needs.

[tiedyejudy]

Hi, Amber.  Thanks for joining us.  I'm sure I am not the only member who would love to hear your recommendations for removing wax from a batik.  Do you have a process you use, or do you have a dry cleaner who does it? 

As for shibori, my experience has been with cotton only... do you use shibori methods for dyeing cotton?  I have only used PVC pipe to create the shibori, and I am anxious to know if you have ever tried using PVC, and heating in the microwave?   
I'm sure these are weird questions to someone who has any experience in either area.  My only attempt at batik was back in the 60's in a college craft course, and the result was dismal.  Since then I have shied away from the process, but love the designs I see, so any advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks, and welcome!

Judy

[Lenora Of The Mice]

Typicallyfor wax removal I iron between sheets of newsprint for a while, and after most of the wax is gone, send it to a dry cleaners.

Yeah, most of the shibori I do is cotton, I haven't had the budget for much silk lately. I've never used the pipes or the microwave, I've never been able to get a hold of some pvc pipe, however odd that is. Clamps and string are currently my most successful means of shiboi...ing.

Here's one of my batiks, if you want to see.
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/38739261/?qo=11&q=by%3Ap00p13-p13&qh=sort%3Atime+-in%3Ascraps

batik needs a bit more equipment than tie-dye or shibori, but the larger amount of control you have over your patterns are worth it, to me anyway.I prefer brushes over tjanting tools, and tjaps (stamps) I'm not too fond of, but that's mostly because I've never been able to use them correctly. Because of the immersion dyeing process, all of your colors must evolve from all the ones before them, which can be restricting at times, but other times it forces you to think of new combinations and steps thaat you sould have never considered with direct application.

[tiedyejudy]

Yeah, most of the shibori I do is cotton, I haven't had the budget for much silk lately. I've never used the pipes or the microwave, I've never been able to get a hold of some pvc pipe, however odd that is. Clamps and string are currently my most successful means of shiboi...ing.
Wow!  I've been doing shibori with clamps, and didn't know it! ex:

 I got hooked on the pvc because of a shibori book, which talked about using dowels... well, I took it a step further and got the pvc, 'cause it comes in various diameters, and is easier to cut than dowel. ex:
I would love to see some examples of your shibori with clamps and string!

I prefer brushes over tjanting tools, and tjaps (stamps) I'm not too fond of, but that's mostly because I've never been able to use them correctly.
Here again, I would be interested in how you remove the wax from your brushes...

Judy

[pburch]

Here again, I would be interested in how you remove the wax from your brushes...

Why remove it? I just let the brushes cool with wax in them. The wax in the brushes will melt again when I put them in the hot wax.

I'm thinking about trying soy wax. Have any of you tried it yet? ProChem is selling it. It's supposed to give the same crackle as real batik wax, but without the lung hazards of paraffin. (Especially ironing out paraffin! Bad for the lungs!)

Paula

[Lenora Of The Mice]

I dunno, I've never used soy wax, I usually have a mix of beeswax and parrafin. I love the beeswax. But it has too high a melting temperature to use all the time.

Yeah... wax brushes are for wax.