Design of a Javanese Sarong. Property of Fay Cooper Cole
Do not pile on more wax in this case, as one may have a lump of wax on top and the cloth still not be protected. Also the lumps often chip off in dyeing, exposing the fiber. Take a knife or any edge and remove the loose wax gently and re-wax. Wax that is too cool will not give a smooth edge to the design. It is easy to tell by looking at the back of the cloth whether the wax has penetrated. A thin silk will allow it to penetrate so easily that the design will be just as clear and distinct on the back as the front. Heavy cloth will need some retouching on the back, probably where brush strokes do not quite meet. Sometimes a drop of wax will seem to penetrate in the middle but will be loose at the edges. This means that the wax is too cool. A little practice will make the right temperature easy to estimate.
Some workers lay the cloth on a glass slab to which the wax will not stick. This cools it before it really penetrates the cloth. Sometimes it is desirable to follow the outline of the pattern with wax before filling in the solid parts. To do this, hold the brush vertically as in drawing any painted brush line. A No. 1 brush is good for very fine lines. In covering a large space, it is sometimes better to begin waxing in the center and work outward toward the edge.
Examples of Batik, done by the students of the Design Department, Art Institute of Chicago
Some means of keeping the wax hot must be provided. It is quite desirable also to be able to regulate the heat, so gas or alcohol, with suitable burners, are really best. A bowl of wax may be set in the top of a tea kettle of boiling water and will hold a good temperature for half an hour without reheating the water. Wax will smoke over a direct heat and will, of course, burn. The bristles of a brush will also burn if left in contact with the bottom of the pan over a direct fire. All bother of this kind is overcome by having the wax in a bowl set in a pan of hot water. Once some small girls who were starting this work allowed the water to splash into the inner bowl. This was afterwards set over the direct flame. There was a grand explosion and spattering of hot wax.
Center panel of a Javanese Sarong. Property of A. B. Lewis