Batik The Definition
January 21, 2008
Batik (pronunciation: [?ba.te?], but often, in English, is [?bæt?k] or [b??ti?k]) is an Indonesian and Malay word and refers to a generic wax-resist dyeing technique used on textile. The word originates from Javanese word “amba”, meaning ”to write” and the Javanese word for dot or point, “titik.”
It is known to be more than a millennium old, probably originating in ancient Egypt or Sumeria. There is evidence that cloth decorated through some form of resist technique was in use in the early centuries AD. It is found in several countries later in West Africa such as Nigeria, Cameroon and Mali, or in Asia, such as India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh , Iran, Thailand, and Malaysia, but the most popular are in Malaysia .
The Malaysian Batik well known for its high demand due to its complexity in the craftmanship has been sold worlwide. The pricing for a simple Batik would be in the regions of USD 20 to USD per piece. The range of price is not mainly due to the craftmanship but due to the country it is being sold to. Thus this is why we are here.
Batik should never be bought in a pre-designed dress. It should be bought in the original form which is a drawn cloth. Then it is up to you to choose a design to use the cloth to make it into a gown or a dress. Some people even use it to make it into a bandanna as well as a Pario. This could be seen as designer swim wears in many countries.
A simple design of a Batik is as below .
This design is using the way and dye method. While the hand painted method design is as below .
This design was done for a simple handkerchief but when it is used for a long sleeved shirt for men it will look somewhat like below .
Yet please do not forget that youshould only buy the cloth and design the material to whatever design you want it to be. When you actually purchase Batik design from most online shops on the internet they would sell it to you in a ready made form. This is due to mass manufacturing. When you get your product it will be in a good condition but would you be able to wear it. Most of the time the answer is no. Batik is often used as a tight fit. This means that it should be tailormade to fit your bodysize.
Most designers like Zang Toi and Bernard Chandran use this mterials to sell their products in Europe which will fetch a price of USD 4000 to USD 15000 a piece. I would suggest you get the material and self design it to your liking or get a design from what you like and ask your tailor to tailormake it.
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