How is batik made?

The essence of batik is to produce a design on fabric with the use of dye and resist. The resist is usually made from hot wax which prevents the color from penetrating the fabric. The fabric is then dipped into vats of color which adheres to the fabric wherever the wax has not been applied. Extra layers of wax can be added for additional colors. Generally lighter colors are dyed first to enable over-dying with darker colors. The wax is then removed by gently washing it in warm water.

The wax can be applied in one of two ways. The most common method is the use a stamp or Cap ("chop").  The stamp is first dipped into the hot wax resist and then carefully placed on the fabric in a repeat pattern until the desired effect has been achieved.
   
The traditional method utilizes a Canting ("chanting") tool to apply the wax resist to the fabric.  A canting tool resembles a pen with a reservoir for holding the hot wax.  The melted wax is poured into the reservoir and carefully released out of the nozzle bit by bit onto the fabric. With this method, the design is first penciled onto the fabric to give a template to work from. Then the wax is hand-drawn onto the fabric with the canting tool.  

Traditionally, the art of batik along with music and dance, have been considered to be a way to develop spiritual discipline.