Batiks, and how to make them

by Pieter Mijer

TJANTINGS

The “tjanting” used in America is a modification of the Javanese instrument; it is a little cup-shaped tool with a handle set at right-angles to the base on one side and on the other is a fine spout arrangement. Through this spout the hot wax is drawn by capillary attraction when the point is brought in contact with the material. In the best type of “tjanting” the spout is tapered toward the point; this shaping is in order that the volume of wax, small though it is, will hold the heat longer than if the entire length of the tube were as minute as the hole through which it is finally drawn.

In batiking with the tjanting the wax is scooped out of the pot in which it is being kept hot and the instrument is wiped off carefully before it is brought near the fabric. It does not do to take a chance on having a drop of wax fall on the work as it is next to impossible to remove it entirely. Some people hold their tjanting directly over a flame to re-heat cooling wax, but it is a very unwise practice as there is a grave danger of hurting the spout and a likelihood of the wax becoming charred. If the wax does get too cold to work with, or the spout gets stopped up with chilled wax, hold the bowl of the tjanting in the hot wax in the melting pot and it will be found that the trouble is remedied instantly. If you have been unlucky enough to get grit or some other clogging substance in the spout, the insertion of a fine hair wire will usually clear it; this is almost a major operation though and should be performed most carefully as it is a delicate instrument you are handling and it costs money to repair it even if you are in the neighbourhood of some one who is able to re-solder it.

So fragile is the point of these fine instruments that even the sudden check caused by the rough fibre of some materials is sufficient to ruin the tip. When not in use the safest plan is to hang it in a box of its own or at least keep it in a place sacred to itself, with its spout upwards, so that there is no likelihood of accidental pressure to bend it out of shape. This careful handling of the tjanting is emphasized because, while the initial cost of a good instrument may seem high, it is a most satisfactory tool to use and with proper attention it should last a life-time. One that is in use today has been used steadily for the past twelve years and looks good for holding many more pints of melted wax.

CLEANING THE TJANTING

DYING OF TEXTILE

The frontispiece shows a piece in which all the line work was done with a tjanting, the brush only being used to fill in the big surfaces, after the various dippings. The design is an adaptation from the Chinese, inspired by the decoration on a coramandel screen. The panel is worked out in seven colours: two golds, two greens, red, brown, and black. It was designed by the writer and executed by Emile Weeckers and himself.

The spout openings come in various sizes and with the finest almost hair-lines can be produced. The wax when ready to flow forms an infinitesimal globule which will run freely when just touched to the material and skimmed as lightly as possible over the surface. A heavy hand will drop the point so that it touches the fabric; the moment it does this the hole is automatically sealed and the wax cannot flow.