How to take care of your hand-painted batik shirt
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.