Batik Banner

Procedure:

1. Pre-wash Banner in Kieralon, line dry, iron to prepare for waxing.

2. Choose design. We chose a simple flower from the Matsuya Japanese Crest Designs CD-ROM and Book. Put the CD in your computer and choose the number of your design. On your computer you can enlarge the design or shrink it in order to have flowers of different sizes on your banner. Print the designs.

3. Plug in the Melting Pot, put in about 3 Tablespoons of Beeswax and set Temperature to recommended setting for beeswax - never leave unattended.

4. Place the printed flowers underneath the banner and trace onto the fabric with the Vanishing Fabric Marker. Free-hand draw the vine serpentine up the banner around the flowers, draw in the leaves freehand.

5. Take a Sumi Brush and paint in the flower petals with the melted wax making sure that the wax penetrates the surface of the fabric. The wax should make the fabric look soaked if it is applied correctly. You can test the temperature of the wax on a scrap of fabric first to see if it's ready to work with. Also have a piece of paper towel handy to keep the brush from dripping the wax where you don't want it.

6. With a smaller brush paint with wax over the vine outline and fill in the leaves.

7. Prepare your dye bath with the Fuchsia Red #13 Procion dye using the tub dyeing method. Place the banner in the dye bath and stir occasionally. Follow the tub dyeing directions. Rinse out excess dye, hand wash in Kieralon with very warm water.

8. Place the banner in boiling water loosely. Place rocks to hold fabric below surface and keep temperature on low for 30 mins. Turn off heat and let cool overnight. You should see a layer of wax on the surface of the water by the next day. Remove the wax and lift material out of the container and rinse. If there is any wax left on the fabric you can do the boil method again or try removing the wax by ironing the fabric between two sheets of absorbent paper or scrap fabric.

9. Prepare the dye bath with Procion Dye #1 Lemon Yellow using the tub dyeing method. Place the banner in the dye bath and follow the instructions. Rinse out excess dye and wash in the washing machine with hot water and Kieralon.

10. After your banner is dried you may want to add some sparkle. We took the Glitter Glue/Glitter Paint, outlined the star of the banner's tail and sprinkled the glitter on it. - Put it up in your front yard to let them know where the party is!