The earliest form of wax resist technique to be practiced in West Malaysia is block-printed batik — also widely known as batik cap or batik terap. It is, until today, the primary technique utilised by the batik artisans in Terengganu and Kelantan. Another common technique of wax application is by hand-drawing the motif using a stylus tool called ‘canting’. Both techniques require precision, patience, and deep understanding of the materials involved — skills that are often horned through decades of experience.
Overview of the batik-printing process used during the making of Summer / Monsoon 2025 collection
Hand-dyeing the base colour
The process starts with applying the first layer of colour using a brush or sponge. The dyed cloth is left to dry. Only textiles with natural fibres are used, as synthetic fabrics do not fare well during dyeing.
Heating the wax and preparing the work space
Wax is melted in a flat pan for block-stamping or a small pot for canting-drawing. The worktable is wetted with a sponge and wrapped in plastik kaca (glass plastic) to trap moisture. The damp surface helps the wax harden faster, allowing finer lines.
Applying wax on the fabric
Batik block-stamping – A batik block is dipped in molten wax and stamped onto the fabric, starting from the bottom edge and moving upward. This is repeated along the fabric’s length.
Drawing with canting – The canting is dipped in wax, filling the head section. The artisan then draws motifs, allowing wax to flow continuously.
Hand-dyeing the second colour
The fabric, now covered in wax motifs, is stretched and hand-dyed with a second layer of colour. Steps 3 and 4 are repeated if a batik piece requires more colour layers or intricate designs.
Fixing the colours
Once the wax has dried, the fabric is soaked in a colour fixer (sodium silicate) for 4–8 hours.
Removing the wax
The fabric is dipped in boiled water to remove the wax.
Rinsing and drying
The cloth is rinsed in water to remove any wax or dye residue, then hung to dry.