We choose paints for batik

Drawing on fabric, you can create unique, one-of-a-kind things from standard wardrobe elements. The process of creating masterpieces on fabric is so exciting that it can go beyond a hobby and turn into an additional or even main source of income. Most girls do batik as a hobby, create clothes for themselves, friends and relatives. This hobby helps to relax from the daily rush, to distract and get pleasant emotions.

Batik is the art of hand-painting fabrics using different reserving agents, which appeared more than 2 thousand years ago. It is known that officially it was brought into a separate art form on the island of Java around the VIII century. From there, the painted silk came to Europe, thanks to merchants from Holland. Similar techniques were practiced by oriental craftsmen from India, China, Southeast Asia, as well as craftsmen from North America.

In order to start drawing on fabric, you need to buy a frame, silk, brushes of the necessary softness, a reserve composition and paints. There are two main types of this technique.

• Cold batik: a drawing is applied to the product, a redundant composition is applied to its contours, which prevents the dye from spreading beyond the image. In this case, the reserve is applied with a special tube, and when the fabric dries, it is painted with liquid dyes.

• Hot batik: After applying the contour, the canvas is covered with hot wax, then they start painting the product, and the painted areas are covered with a new layer of wax. Then dried paraffin is removed using an iron and paper.

So, to start creating masterpieces on fabric, you need to stock up with special paints for batik. Art shops abound with various products.You can find on sale ready-made sets of a novice master for painting fabrics, as well as purchase paints separately. To understand how this or that dye is attached to the fabric and how much it holds, you need to study their varieties.

Today, the range of colors for batik is quite large, and inexperienced beginners sometimes do not know what to choose.

The most popular paints are divided into two groups:

• acrylicwhich are easily fixed with an iron;

• aniline, more difficult to use, which are sealed on fabric only with the help of a powerful jet of steam.

Today, acrylic dyes are more popular with hand-made fans, since it is easier to work with them, but vapor-proof paints also have their advantages. Let us consider in more detail the properties of these products.

They can be produced not only in jars, but also in more convenient spray cans and tubes for work. Acrylic is formed from acrylic acid, it refers to polymeric materials. The ancestor of polymers is plexiglass. Since these paints dry quickly, do not forget to wash the brushes and palette before this happens, otherwise it will be difficult to cope with the dried composition. When washing, they can gradually be washed off, which means that it makes no sense to paint clothes for everyday wear with them.

They usually have the inscription "Acrylic" or an image of the iron. Most often in the stores for needlework you can find products of Russian companies “Gamma”, “Decola”, Love2art, “Olks”. They differ in low cost, so they are quite suitable for those who take the first steps in painting the fabric.

More advanced batchists can recommend paints from foreign manufacturers. Unlike the previous ones, they do not burden the fabric, and their color palette is more diverse. True, for all these advantages you have to pay more money. Among the popular brands of this group are Pebeo, Marabu and Javana.

Usually, acrylic is not used for painting wardrobe items, because clothes are painted only with steam-resistant paints.

Such dyes are often used by masters who have long mastered this art. The fact is that fixing the picture with steam is much more difficult, and with a lack of experience all the work can go down the drain. Their coloring properties are much higher than that of acrylics - the material is painted better, so from the wrong side the pattern looks as bright as from the front. Silk remains light and airy, while acrylic sometimes creates a weighting effect.

To fix the paint with steam, you can resort to using a large pan with water, however, using a autoclave is a more reliable way. This device allows you to get very high temperature steam and creates pressure. Special autoclaves for batichists, which can be used at home, are sold. The optimal performance for operation is 0.5 atm and temperature + 102–104 degrees. After warming up for 20 minutes, the product is steamed for 50 minutes.

Inexpensive, but high-quality paints are produced by the aforementioned Gamma company. The set includes 11 colors. The disadvantages of the product of this budgetary Russian company include the fact that after the first wash, the color fades slightly.

If you are willing to pay more for paint, then opt for dyes Dupont. Their color scheme, saturation of shades and good fixation on silk have become undoubted advantages, but they need to be steamed for three hours. Avant garde possesses the same excellent quality and considerable price. Jacquard surpasses these brands, as it is sold with a fixative for paint - just rinse the product in it and the color will fix.

Remember that aniline is a toxic substance. If you do not have to work with a liquid composition, but with a powder, then try to protect yourself from volatile particles.

Benefits:

• working with them, you can not be afraid that the paints will dry on the palette, they can be parted again at any time;
• if the smear turned out to be too bright, then you can rinse off any excess with water at any time.

There are other colors for creating patterns on clothes. For example, stamping - they are most often used for applying company labels, marking things in hotels, etc. Plastisol paints allow you to create luminous drawings.

At first glance, the techniques of cold and hot batik seem complicated, but such an impression is formed only when meeting with them. Everyone can learn to draw beautiful paintings on fabric, as well as paint clothes or decor items, creating unique author's works. Summing up, we say that the choice of paints depends on the degree of your preparation and purpose: for clothes, in any case, the advantage will be on the side of aniline paints, but for beginners it is easier to work with acrylic.

Do not be afraid to learn a new hobby and you can please friends and family with beautiful exclusive things in a single copy.

About types of paints for batik and their features see below.