Waxing

When waxing an item I like to use a colored, flexible cutting board to keep the wax from getting all over the table or the other side of a shirt.  These two pictures show how the color will show through differently after the wax is applied.  It makes it easier for me to tell where I've put the wax already as well as if it soaked in properly.  If the wax is too cold it will look different.

Sailing on a green sea

While I haven't been busy posting, I have been busy creating.  We moved this spring and immediately started remodeling.  That is my excuse.  Not that I couldn't have gotten out my stuff to take pics of finished work.

When waxing something I like to use a flexible cutting board to keep the wax from getting all over the table.  It is easy to clean off but the wax doesn't smear on the next scarf or shirt so I don't have to clean it every time.  And I prefer a colored cutting board as it makes it easier to see the wax I've put down.  Which helps so I don't miss any spots.  You can see in the pictures how the color of the board shows when the wax is applied.

Folds

This is my second try at this design. The first one is here. When done well, it looks like a 2nd layer of fabric over the top. When I’m happy with how I figured out how to do it, I want to do a larger panel to use as a curtain. I didn’t make up the design. It is one I saw in the book Shibori: The Inventive Art of Japanese Shaped Resist Dyeing by Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada showing some of Nancy Marchant’s work. You have to figure out what happens when you do something to figure out how to work it so it looks like what you have in mind. I really recommend the book. It has very good instructions on how to do the techniques, as well as history and development.

The shape of the curves look more natural on this one. Although I dyed some spots I shouldn't. I need to mark where the dye needs to go. Perhaps some thread loops. Kind of like dye-by-number. I think I'll have the bottom different also. Not have the pointed part in the middle. Extend the undyed part to the bottom so it looks like the overlay goes all the way to the bottom.

Again, I used thickened dye to keep it from spreading. But I think I’ll need to put it up on a screen rather than flat on plastic so it doesn’t wick along on the plastic. I’ll probably do something like I use in my sink for rinsing out. I have to apply the dye to both sides since the thickener doesn’t allow it to soak through very well.

Stretching

This is the setup I use to stretch silk scarves. The frame is some left over salvaged flooring. What I installed upstairs looks a lot better than this.

By assembling it like a pinwheel, it makes it easy to adjust the size. The tongue and groove of it helps keep the pieces in place better.
The red things are regular woodworking clamps.
The blue silk hooks are attached with rubber bands to keep tension. When silk scarves get dampened they stretch a bit.
On the table is heavy vinyl from the fabric store.
I don't want the scarf to sit right on the vinyl so I put some pieces of 2x4s under the frame to elevate it.

Tray

Sometimes reading instructions and books about other techniques gives you ideas. I wanted a large tray for dyeing but couldn't find one. But with some scrap wood, screws, binder clips and plastic sheeting I now have one.

I made mine about 4' x 2' because that fits on my work table nicely.

I got the info from reading about how to do marbling. For that you have to put the item in all at once.

Stencils

You may notice the repeat appearance of the practice shirt underneath this stencil. I just cut out the stencil and wanted to test to see how it would turn out. I plan to recut it since it is a bit uneven. But considering it is only a practice for testing it's good enough. I like the design and think it'll look really nice along a neckline.

Reynolds freezer paper works pretty well. It isn't as durable as a plastic one, but it's a lot cheaper. Especially for practicing, or for designs you aren't sure if you'll like.

Under the tshirt I use a flexible cutting board so the wax doesn't soak through to the other side and leave shadows. Or for something flat like a scarf, to keep the wax off my work table. If it is too small for my board I use a plastic bag.

If you are using enough wax to do the batik design, the shirt should stick to the board a bit. It'll come right off, but it means the wax has soaked all the way through the fabric. You should still check the back for missed spots.

The sticking can also be useful. The stencil in the picture has a lot of detail. If I fill in sections at either end it helps keep the shirt from moving while I work on the rest.

Result

This is the result of my attempt to make a shape to use for batik. You could also make a cutter for polymer clay this way. I don't know about using it as a cookie cutter. I don't know if the metal is food safe. I wouldn't think it would cause a problem, but I'm not a metallurgist.

The metal flashing is pretty easy to work with. A regular utility knife scores it, so the metal can be bent and broken. I used a long piece of wood as a straightedge. And, of course, I had a piece of wood underneath the metal to try to avoid damage to my table.

Assorted objects you have around you will help shape the metal. I'm using the handle on one of my brushes to help get a nice, smooth curve. A jar or bottle would give you a larger arc. Some needle nose pliers would help also. A straight piece of scrap wood gives a nice crease.

I had problems getting the base of it staying together. If I secured them too tightly it wicked up too much wax. You can see the stamp inside the circle is kind of splotchy. So the one in the picture is my second try. Hmm, perhaps one that looks like ribbon candy.

Shapes

I know it is hard to take pictures of plastic, but I tried anyway.

I found these nice stencils on clearance at the local craft store. They're actually intended to be used for embossing paper, but can be used like a normal stencil also.

So the other picture is a waxed design on a shirt using a small portion of the stencil for the scroll shape at the bottom. I think I'm going to repeat the pattern on the back. I like to decorate the back of the shirts also. I think it makes it more interesting. As you can see, it works even better to take pictures of wax on white shirts. It helps to cover the flash a little bit. It keeps it from looking completely white, but isn't too dull either.

Brushes

For Batik I'm finding I prefer using a paintbrush over the tjanting. It's easier for me to get an even, consistant amount of wax on the shirt. Most likely, it's operator issues rather than the tjanting.

You have to try a few brushes to see what you like better. The ones sold singly at the craft store are working better for me. They need to have enough bristles to pick up enough wax. But not too 'fat' that they hold too much wax. They are also avail in different shapes and firmness. More firm works better for me.
Since I'm using stencils for some designs, it helps mask off areas I don't want wax on, a stencil brush works well. But I don't like the foam stencil tool.
One called a Filbert is nice also. It tapers a bit, but is squared across the end. A teardrop shape can help for finer details.

Rather than dipping the brush in a pot of wax, I like using my flat tray. I have a piece of craft felt folded double and it helps work like a stamp pad. I can pick up a consistant amount of wax and don't need to 'tap off' or wipe a bit of the wax off the brush.

The tjanting is nice for doing circles as drops of wax are really easy for me to do. Perhaps I should take up polka dot painting.

Look at all the pretty colors

Wandering through the aisles of a big box hardware store/lumberyard is good. You never know what kind of useful items you'll find. I found a bunch of buckets for $1 each. Although one of the buckets had a leak. A bucket has one simple job to do and it failed at it. Oh well, it holds my tools and batik shapes now.

This way I can do several different colors at one time. I know, I could do them all the same color in a large bucket. But I didn't want to. Not today.

Did you know you can hang buckets from your pegboard? Useful when you don't have a very large work counter for storage.

Dad found some nice larger plastic trays at one of the other stores. They would work well for dyeing a few shirts in a batch.

Another try

Some more practicing with a tjap. This try is better, not such huge wax globs. I have a small cookie sheet - like the size for a toaster oven - that I'm using to hold the wax. Then a piece of craft felt that is folded double fills half of it. The felt works like an ink pad. It lets me get a smaller amount of wax because I'm not dipping the tjap in the wax so far. Trying to shake off the extra wax doesn't work so well for me, I don't want to fling wax all over my basement.

For the next try, I'll figure out a way to have a slightly padded surface for the fabric. I think the tjap is slightly uneven. Most tjaps available had been used for many years. Or at least the ones with prices I'm willing to pay.

I still need to play with making some shapes myself. I got a piece of sheet metal at the hardware store. It should be a nice thickness to use.

Designs

It's amazing what designs you can make with simple objects. Just using some odd squeeze clamps on fabric can create an interesting pattern. Nothing fancy.