I never could afford batiks on my budget,but a friend turned me on to them. I do hand needleturn applique and batiks are great for this .They dont ravel and the colors are great in Jacobean type applique .I am finishing a sampler one of flowere and it is gorgeous. Also can do on my SS budget as I can buy as little as and eighth of a yard of fabric and get many piecee. hope this makes sense.