Fine arts and Crafts

My goals

By the end of this Unit, I will be able to:

⦿ Describe the materials and tools used for designing

textiles.

⦿ Create motifs using different tools for textile decoration.

⦿ Make patterns using batik technique.

⦿ Create a pattern using tie and dye.

Introduction

In Unit two you made patterns using different printing

techniques. The techniques you used are referred to as surface

resist. There are other methods of resisting a liquid (colour or

dyes) from entering a cloth or another surface. In this unit we

are going to study about batik and tie and dye methods of

textile decoration. These are called bound resist techniques.

For example look at the patterns in Figures 6.1, 6.2, 6.3 and

6.4.

Activity 1

Identifying patterns

1. Look at Figures 6.1 to 6.4 and differentiate batik

designs from tie and dye designs.

2. What makes the two patterns different?

3. Identify the colours used.

4. Look for similar patterns from your local area and

discuss them with your classmates.

You may observe that patterns made using batik technique

are bolder than those made using tie and dye. However, one

has to plan the patterns in advance before using either batik

or tie and dye

Making motifs and patterns for batik

In batik, we use wax to resist dyes from occupying certain

areas in your pattern. Whenever you are applying dyes, begin

with light colours, then add dark colours as you complete the

work. These colours mix with each other to create interesting

tones.

In order to make a batik article, you need the following

materials:

· Pencil and paper

· Cloth (A cotton cloth works better). Remember, you should

wash and iron the cloth before using it in any design work.

· Wax (this can be either bee wax or paraffin wax)

· Brushes of different sizes

· Dyes of different colours

· Containers for mixing dyes

· A heating source

· A source pan

· Rough papers, such as news papers

· Iron box or flat iron

Then follow these steps to make your batik article.

Step 1

Using a pencil, sketch your pattern

on paper. Your pattern should be

simple as the one shown shown in

Figure 6.5. A complicated pattern

will give you a hard time to work

on. Mix the dyes in water, following

the instructions for mixing which

appear on these dyes.

Figure 6.5: Sketches for a batik work

Step 2

Spread your cloth on a table. Then

transfer the sketch on to the cloth

as you follow the proportions of your

sketch. Look at Figure 6.6.

This can be done by re-drawing it with

a pencil or you may use a stencil if the

sketch does not need enlargement.

Figure 6.6: Transferring the sketch on to the cloth

Step 3

Put wax in a source pan and heat it

until it melts into liquid as shown in

Figure 6.7. Use little heat when the

wax melts, to keep it in liquid form.

Figure 6.7: melting wax

 Step 4

Dip the brush bristles in the molten

wax and block the sketched lines on the

cloth as in figure 6.8. Never leave the

brush in hot wax for long, it could easily

get burnt.

You should put a paper or papers below

the cloth in order to stop it from getting

stuck on the table.

Figure 6.8: Applying wax on the clot

Step 5

Using a relatively big brush, paint

your cloth with a light colour. Then

let the cloth dry. Never dry the cloth

under hot sun because it melts the

wax put on earlier. See figure 6.9.

Figure 6.9: Painting the cloth with dyes

Step 6

Apply wax to places where you want

to maintain the first colour. Then

paint the cloth with another colour

(darker than the first).

Look at figure 6.10

Figure 6.10: Painting the cloth with wax

Step 7

When you are done with the colours you wanted, apply wax

on the entire cloth. Let it dry up and then crackle it (create

cracks through the wax).

Step 8

Paint the cloth with

the darkest colour as

shown in Figure 6.11.

Let it dry up.

Figure 6.11: Painting the cloth with the darkest colour

Step 9

Crease the cloth to remove

the wax as shown in Figure

6.12.

When you are done, remove

the excess wax by putting

the cloth between papers

and ironing it as shown in

Figure 6.13.

Figure 6.12: Creasing the cloth to remove wax

Activity 2

1. Follow the steps given to make your own batik article.

2. Display and discuss your work with your classmate.

Take note

Melting wax and making batik work requires a well ventilated

place.

Be careful as you work with hot molten wax. It can easily burn

you.

Making patterns for Tie and dye

The process of making patterns for tie and dye begin with

tightly tying the cloth, and dipping it in boiling dyes before

bringing it out to dry. Therefore the name comes from the

process of making the patterns, “first tie the cloth and then

dye it in dyes”.

To make tie and dye patterns, you need the following

materials:

· Cloth

· Raffia or nylon threads

· Dyes

· Water

· Heat source

· Cutters

· Wax

·· Salt (this is usually added in the dyes as they are boiled)

Patterns for tie and dye largely depend on how the cloth is

treated before dyeing it. The cloth is tied in order to resist

dyes from going to unwanted areas. After tying the cloth, it is

dipped in dyes and boiled for about 30 minutes (or according

to the instructions on the tin for a given dye).

It is then removed from the dye and made to dry under shade.

The tying should be tight in order to limit dye from going to

places they are not supposed to.

You can use different colours to dye your cloth. But before

dyeing the cloth in another colour, the first colour should be

dry. Then more tying is done to preserve the first colour. The

threads are not removed until the cloth is totally dry.

Activity 3

1. Look for tie and dye patterns from your local area.

2. What shapes can you see in these patterns?

There are several ways of treating the cloth, these include:

1. Folding and gathering

2. Stitchery

1. Folding and gathering

There are several ways of folding and gathering the cloth

these include pleats, strips, circles and spirals. These are

demonstrated in Figure 6.14. In all the styles shown, the cloth

is twisted first, then it is tied to form a given pattern.

Figure 6.15: Ways of making patterns for tie and dye

After folding and gathering the cloth, its is then tied and

emersed in dyes as shown in figure 6.16. The cloth is boiled

for some time as indicated on the dyes, look at Figure 6.17.

After dyeing the cloth it is left to dry under a shade if you are

to use several colours, the process is repeated. You add more

ties after drying the cloth and dip it into the second colour.

Then when you are done with all colours, the cloth is unfolded

and ironed and the patterns of final work appear as shown in

figure 6.18

Activity 4

1. Observe the patterns in Figure 6.14 and try them out on

a piece of cloth.

2. Dye the cloth to see the outcome.

Now take a look at how the patterns look like on the final work

in Figure 6.18, after dyeing the cloth.

2. Stitchery

For this technique, you need a needle and threads (preferably

nylon threads or raffia). For example the pattern in Figure 6.15

was a result of stitchery. You begin by sketching the patterns

on the cloth, then you sew them with a running stitch. But

you leave threads of a reasonable length hanging. These are

the threads used to tie the cloth when it comes to dyeing it.

Figure 6.19 A pattern made using stichery techniques. You

can now look at the pattern made by use of threads on a cloth

in figure 6.20.

While using the stitchery technique, threads are pulled and

tied at intervals depending on the planned design and colours.

Then the cloth is dipped in dyes following the same process as

the one you used in folding together on page 83. Your pattern

may come out as shown in the figure 6.21.

Take note:

· Just like the case of batik works, the process of dyeing the

cloth should always begin with light colours.

· You need to know the colour combinations before doing tie

and dye. These were studied in Unit one.

Activity 5

1. Draw a pattern for stitchery on a piece of paper.

2. Sew the stitch on a piece of cloth.

3. Dye the pattern and observe the outcome

Assessment

Create a pattern on a cloth (1/2 square meter) using one of the

techniques discussed in this unit.

1. Get a piece of cloth (1/2 square meter) and create patterns

by folding it into either circles or pleats

2. Tie the cloth into different values and dip it into a light dye

3. Repeat the processes in ‘2’ atwith different parts in the

second dye.

4. Unfold the cloth and let it dry. Then iron your cloth and

display it.

Glossary

Bound resist: a technique of decorating cloth in which dyes

are stopped from going to certain areas on a

cloth by either tying, or using wax.

Surface resist: a technique of decorating a cloth in which

printing ink is limited to particular areas by using

a stencil, or graphic film or photo emulsion.

Crackling: a technique used to create rugged lines on a

batik work when it is completed.

Stitchery: a tie and dye method in which threads are used

to create patterns on a cloth.

Dye: a material which is used to change the colour

of another materials either directly or by use of

heat.

Crease: a process of squeezing a cloth in order to remove

excess wax.

Pleats: folds created in a pieces of cloth as a process of

creating patterns on it before dipping it in dyes.