How to take care of your hand-painted batik shirt

By Thalia Kamarga

JAKARTA (JP): Batik, particularly hand-painted batik, needs special care.

Since it is expensive, especially the older pieces, it is important to preserve it properly. Of course, this is not simple and also quite costly, considering that batik is delicate and easily damaged.

According to Josephine Komara, the owner of Bin House, bugs, sunlight and humidity are batik's biggest enemies. Taking care of batik requires specific techniques.

For older batik, the condition of the piece is the first thing to be taken into consideration. A piece already in poor condition should not be washed; pieces in fair condition can be washed in plain water, by hand.

The newer pieces can be washed using lerak, a kind of traditional mild soap made especially for batik that preserves the fastness and brightness of the cloth. Mild soaps can also be used.

Dry batik in the shade. During drying a cloth must not be exposed to direct sunlight; this would cause the fading of the dyes and reduce its fastness. Remember, the dye of a batik piece is the key to the basic beauty and quality of batik.

A batik can be hung on the clothesline, but clothespins are not recommended, Josephine, more popularly known as Obin, added.

Similarly, ironing a batik is best done on a medium setting. It is better to spread a damp piece of cloth on top of the batik while ironing to prevent damage to the cloth itself. Cloths with natural dyes, particularly, will change color and brightness when treated with heat.

Storing

The ideal method for storing batik is either rolling it up or laying it open flat, one cloth on top of the other, with special acid-free paper between each cloth. Remember not to pile them too high, to avoid crushing the ones at the bottom. However, acid paper is hard to get hold of here, and expensive too. Besides, laying down the pieces flat takes up too much space.

You can fold the cloths, but remember to minimize the creases that cause broken patterns. If there is no acid-free paper, the cloths should be grouped by color to prevent any bleeding.

Finally, every six months, the cloths should be hung out in the open air to avoid mildew caused by the humidity here. Apart from staining the cloth, mildew also weakens it dramatically. This should be done late in the afternoon, again, avoiding direct sunlight.

"When you fold it again, do not follow the same lines," Obin advised, "Fold the other way around every six months."

He says you should store the batik in cupboards with legs, and put little cups of oil or chalk under each leg to prevent bugs from joining the fun.

Bugs are very damaging to older cloths with natural dyes. These natural dyes are mostly made from plants and are very appetizing to bugs. "Sometimes they eat only parts of a cloth. Usually, they'll eat along a seam of the same color," Obin said.

"Some older folks spread black pepper kernels around the shelf and on top of the cloth. I am afraid, though, that this might stain the cloth," she said. Obin suggested that the black pepper kernels be put in little sacks to prevent staining.

Another way of preventing damage from bugs is by using camphor, or akar wangi, a kind of root that they hate. This is a traditional approach.

If the cupboard is made of wood, the shelf definitely has to be lined with white, undyed paper to prevent yellowing of the cloth, Obin added.

Apart from cleaning and storing, repairing any damage will help preserve both old and new batik.

Sometimes, batik comes in sarong form. Remove stitching from older pieces not used as sarongs and spread them open like long cloths to maintain the quality and prevent damage. The threads of the stitches can cut through the cloth over time.

If the condition of an old piece is very poor, and the batik has holes, sewing a lining onto the back will strengthen it and prolong the life of the cloth.