I recently went to Bali, Indonesia — known to Americans as the place where Elizabeth Gilbert/Julia Roberts found love in the book/movie “Eat, Pray, Love.” Instead of looking for romance, though, I traveled with a group of quilters to see how batik fabrics are made and to try my hand at this ancient art technique.
The batik process originated in Indonesia centuries ago and uses wax and dyes to create lovely patterns and scenes on cotton and silk fabrics, paper and other materials. “Batik has a magical quality that no other process offers. That’s why I love it so,” says Rosi Robinson, a batik artist and author of “Creative Batik,” as well as vice chair of The Batik Guild, an international organization that is trying to raise the profile of batik around the world.
Batik Beginnings
Quilters are major fans of batik fabrics emanating from Indonesia and quilt shops often dedicate large sections of their stores to these fabrics. As a destination, Bali was a big draw for me and my fellow quilters partly because we had the opportunity to buy lots of fabric at about $2.50 a meter, which is slightly longer than a yard, versus $14 a yard in the U.S. for the same product. We all brought extra suitcases with us to haul home up to 50 lbs. per suitcase, as allowed by the airlines, and indulged in a buying frenzy…