Welcome to the Quilting Board!
Please contribute any helpful information you may have that will help me in identifying batiks; I sewed for my family for years but never really paid attention to the "names" of the fabrics I might have used. It seems that batiks are very big in quilting and since I am now trying my hand at that, I'd like to be able to engage in intelligent conversation with other quilters if the occasion arises (and also to be able to idenitfy batik if it is called for in a pattern).
A batik is made by dyeing fabric, then putting on a design with wax or some others sort of "resist". Then it is redyed. This can happen several times with several colors or shades of the same color, depending on the complexity of the patter, To identify a batik, look at the back side it will be the same as the front (not whitish) and will be colored all the was through the selvedge. Since they are washed several times in the process, they will be preshrunk and a tighter weave than regular cotton. I love working with batiks, and hope this info was helpful.
"Wag more - Bark less"
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I agree with Connie. When she says "will be colored all the way through the selvedge", that means there is essentially no selvedge, the fabric is dyed all the way to the edge. This is one of the easiest ways to identify batiks. You might mosey over to your LQS and ask a salesperson to show you where the batiks are, check them out up close and personal.
Peckish aka Peggi
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Sometimes people use hand-dyed fabrics instead of the ones with the designs overdyed on them. They are the same weight and feel as batiks, but look more like a tone-on-tone. If a pattern calls for batiks, you could mix them with the hand-dyes. There are many good companies making them, such as Robert Kaufman and Hoffman of California. I, too, love working with them on quilts and purses. Since they are a denser, tighter weave, you need a sharp needle to penetrate the fabric. Also, because there are no selvages as such with identifcation on it, you probably not remember which company it came from. There is a difference in quality. I find that the ones at JoAnn are mostly inferior to the quilt shop ones. You will be able to tell once you get a little more experience with them. Good luck!
Thank you all for the helpful tips, I have a better idea of how to identify batiks without question.
You could also go to one of the many sites that sell fabric on the internet and search "batiks", you'll soon learn to identify them by sight! And they are wonderful to look at!
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Never regret growing older, its a privilege denied to many.
Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Kitsie
If you are trying to identify one fabric mill batik from another, i dont really know how to help, there are so many different batiks....
here's a video on the process of making batiks that you might find interesting. The music is awful, and it's a long video. But it's a long process too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=UDsD5sQOF_A
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