Wax batik with natural dyes and mordants

Staff and equipment needed: mordanted silk scarf; yellow natural dye or plants (choose one - weld, cutch, birch leaves, french marigold, dyers chamomilla, onion skins or any other), iron water, wax mix (stearin, beeswax, carnauba or other), indigo and vat (calx, fructose). Equipment - pot for dyeing of fabric and steaming at the end of the process, bucket for indigo vat, wooden frame to attach silk, pot for melting wax, separate brushes for wax and painting.
Please follow up safety tips when working with powders - natural dyes, alum, Ferrum sulfate, hot wax (see at the end of the post).

Preparation for painting

The process starts with mordanting silk with alum (10-15% WOF) and gathering plants. I like to leave silk in mordant solution overnight. The same with plants - I put them in the pot, pour with very hot water and leave overnight. In the morning I warm up "the soup" with plants for about 30 minutes, leave the pot for an hour to cool down. After that I filter this soup and this process is perfect with the help of thighs (yes, the same tights women are wearing...). Add the silk in the pot with a filtered solution and put it to slowly simmer for 30-40 minutes. Rotate silk often and make sure that it is fully immersed in the dye bath. Dyed silk should be dried before started to paint with wax. Put silk on a wooden frame.

Painting process

Start with the melting of wax in a special pot. Paint the first layer of the ornament with hot melted wax on silk. Places covered with wax will remain yellow.

When the first layer finished, prepare a small amount (about 20-30 ml) iron water or solution with Ferrum sulfate (really very, very small pinch of sulfate needed). Cover the next layer with this solution - it will turn the silk in different colors (depends on plants you used) - olive green, gray-green, brownish, or even gray. Wait while silk is completely dry and put the next layer of melted wax on places that should remain in olive green or brownish.

Preparation of indigo

I use indigo vat recipe with calx and fructose or it is called as 1-2-3 vat. You will need about 1-2 hours for the preparation of the indigo vat. So I usually prepare it while painting.
Remove the silk from the frame, wrinkle it well, and soak in water for at least 15 minutes.
When indigo vat ready, soak the waxed silk in it for 30 seconds. Check the results and if needed to soak it again while the desired tone achieved. Leave silk to oxidize for 5-10 minutes and after that rinse in cold water. Allow to dry.

Final steps

Now it the moment to remove wax - I usually do it with the help of old newspapers and iron. Just put waxed silk between two sheets of newspaper and iron. When wax melted and penetrated in paper - quickly remove sheets and repeat the process with new papers till the wax is removed. It will take some time and efforts :)
In order to remove the wax completely, I put the silk into steam for 30 minutes. After steaming, I wash silk with pH neutral detergent, rinse it very carefully, and roll in a towel to remove excess water. Iron while a bit wet.
Great news - you could reuse the first dye bath and indigo vat in your next project! Do not pour them away. Just keep them securely in the bucket with lid or big glass jar.

Safety tips when working with powders - alum, ferrum sulfate, calx

Do not breathe dust, use protective gloves when preparing vat and dyeing materials.
Do not touch eyes with hands or better use protective eyewear.
If in eyes - rinse continuously with water for several minutes.
Please keep all powders away from the kitchen and food.
Please keep them away from children and pets.
Please wash well ar dyed and painted fabric - to remove the excess of chemicals used in the process.

Share with us your results

All staff you need for this creative project, You could buy in our Etsy store:
NatureColorsEU
Have a nice time with this creative project! We would love it if you share your results on our Facebook page here.