Batiking on Cape Coast’s Coast!

I did a batik workshop in Cape Coast! Batik is a much utilized form of art for clothing in Ghana. Every Ghanaian woman, even men, own batiked fabrics and clothing. Batik involves melted wax in the form of designs that are applied to fabric, and then removed to reveal the print after it has been dyed. Here are the steps to creating a batik masterpiece! There is a slide show that shows the pictures when it was taking place.
1. Choose the stencils that you want to use
2. Dip the stencil into the bowl of melted wax; shake the stencil so that it does not drip
3. Carefully, slowly, but efficiently press the stencil onto the fabric, allowing the design to be visible. Applying more wax onto the stencil will be necessary. Following the creases of the fabric is a good idea in order to maintain the quality of the pattern.
4. Fold the fabric so that when tie-dyeing, it will result in the design you wanted.
5. Mix the dye with other chemicals to allow the dye to move through the fabric and allowing the color to come through evenly and clearly.
6. Soak certain areas of the fabric in the dye. Mine has two colors: purple and yellow.
7. Wring the fabric and let it dry for a bit
8. Rinse the fabric and then place in a pan of boiling water to melt the wax off
9. Wash the fabric once more in water to remove any impurities then hang to dry and then it’s done!!
It was a lot of work for two yards of fabric! It took 3 hours from start to finish to complete the batiking process! It was tough and tedious work!