Batik Fabric:
Real batik is made by melting wax over a fabric and dying it. The
process is repeated until all the dying is completed. At the end of the dye process, the wax is removed.
The work "batik" comes from Jave and means "printing in wax." This
method of decorating has been practiced for centuries by Asian countries. The process involves using the wax to resist the
effect of fabric dye. The parts of the cloth coated in wax remain the original color.
Sun Printed Fabric:
Sun printing, otherwise known as heliographic painting was developed
almost 200 years ago and is still inspiring creative crafters and fabric artists today. It is a relatively simple way to create
designs on cloth.
To make a sun print, you need fabric that's been treated with
chemicals to make it light sensitive. Although you can purchase the chemicals to pretreat the fabric yourself, the easiest
way is to purchase sun printed fabric that's already been treated to make it light sensitive.
The chemicals to pretreat fabric are potassium ferricyanide and ferric
ammonium which are available through photographic supply sources.
Marbling Fabric:
Marbling is the art of floating paints on top of a thick solution,
called "size" manipulating the paints into patterns, than transferring the pattern on to an object by gently placing it on
top of the paints.
Carrageenan and Methyl Cellulose, sometimes called methylcel, are
two different products used to make marbling size. Both are non toxic and used as thickening agents in the food an pharmaceutical
industries.
Carrageenan is a seaweed extract and is the prefered marbling size.
Some marblers prefer it over methylcel because it gives them better control and results in more precise patterning.
Setacolor Paints:
Setacolor transparent colors are the paint of choice for heliographic
fabric art. Setacolor can also be used for silk screening when thickened with a 2-5% thickener.
The transparent colors allow underlying colors to show through. They
work especially well on white or light fabrics. They are thinner than many fabric paints but not a thin as silk paints. You
can hand paint on the finest fabrics as they are one of the softest paints. Setacolor paints also come in opague and fluorescent.
