Our final destination: Handprint Batik. We’ve come so far (actually, only 3 posts) but learning about Batik is an eye-opener! We haven’t even gone into the fabric types yet!

How does Handprint Batik work? 

It’s actually a similar to silkscreen printing, where there is a frame with the design on it covered in wax and the dye is scraped through onto the cloth; but on a larger scale.

See, our usual silkscreen printing is on each piece of clothing (e.g. t-shirts). For Handprinted Batik, it’s the same method but on one LOOONG sheet of cloth and the frame is about 5x bigger than the regular frame.

We weren't kidding you, it's so much bigger compared to a standard silkscreen frame!

The design of the frames is pre-determined, before allocating different parts of the design onto individual frames to be covered in wax.

A long piece of cloth will be draped onto a table and the crafters will get to work! The frames are so huge and heavy, that it requires 2 strong men to carry and print the dye onto the cloth.

Unfortunately, when YeoMama and YeoLaoBan went to the factory, it was the Hari Raya festive season so there’s no photos of the crafters in action.

Thanks to one of our crafter, Jacqueline, we are able to show how the process actually looks like through videos!

'I pass you, you pass me' - Handprint batik requires 2 strong men to print the dye onto the fabric because the screen is heavy! Credits to Jacqueline



We love that batikful white base! Credits to Jacqueline

The crafters work so smoothly, it's so calming. 

Many of you may be wondering why we don’t bring in a huge stock of a particular design. That’s because we carefully place the desired motif on specific areas. Read our previous post to know more about how we design your favourite pieces!

Over the course of time, we heard all your requests to bring your favourite prints/fabrics back in stock! However, with all items, the frames are subjected to wear and tear eventually. If the frames are truly worn down, the crafters wouldn’t repeat the same design. Trust me, even WE want to bring back those prints!

Handprint batik on our pretty Fei Cheongsam dresses!

No fear! Since our clothes are all handmade, we definitely will have new prints and fabrics that we believe can and will be your new favourites!

Annnnnd that’s the end of our Batikful journey! Now you can show-off to your friends on all these batikful fun facts! #themoreyouknow am I right? Stay tuned for our next post on fabrics!

Written by Kimberly Tay

YeoKimChi of YeoMama Batik Team

November 19, 2019 — Kimberly Tay

Leave a comment

Please note: comments must be approved before they are published.