the most gorgeous available fabrics

Difference #1: Colors

Batiks are gorgeous. (I will be repeating this, as it is absolutely true.)

Batiks come with deep, rich colors, and they are always patterned, usually in swirls and sweeps.  It looks as though the colors have been washed over the fabric with water, and this is essentially how it’s done, using salt as a permanent fixer for the vibrant dyes.

This is oversimplified, of course, but you get the idea.  You can go to this incredible video to see how batiks are made in more detail.

Many batiks are “only one color,” but that single color will vary from dark to light, with spots, streaks and swirls all through it.  Most batiks, however, have more than one color, and this really ups the possibilities for you in coordinating your fabric choices.

The combinations are truly endless!

Difference #2: No Right or Wrong Sides

The dyeing process leaves both sides of a batik fabric with the same saturation of color.  In essence, a batik does not have a right or a wrong side – which makes it very handy when you’re cutting out directional pieces.

As a person who makes frequent mistakes, I cheer this feature times ten!  If you cut one wrong you only have to flip it over.

Difference #3: No Pre-Wash is Necessary

I don’t have to wash batiks first before I use them.

The old cottons would lose a lot of color and had significant shrinkage value, leaving fabric artists literally no option.  A fabric that had not been prewashed could easily destroy a quilt.

Batiks benefit from the permanence of their dyeing process which makes them:

• Nearly fade proof
• Shrinkage is virtually nil
• Small chance of bleeding (except in some of the darkest red and orange colors)

When I’m using mostly batiks and other high-grade quilting cottons there isn’t enough risk for me to go to all the work of washing, drying, ironing and starching every piece I buy.

Barb still does this, bless her heart, but she’s older than I am and more set in her ways.  She’s also more patient, so maybe we should all take a page from her book. She snips off a corner of every piece that she washes, and then she can tell instantly what has been laundered and what hasn’t, which I think is extremely clever.

The Major Drawback

Beautiful batiks do have the drawback of being more expensive than regular cottons but there are ways of blunting the pain of this.

First of all:

I try to buy only what I need with maybe an extra ½ yard as a buffer if I make a mistake.  If I don’t make a mistake – or only make small mistakes – the extra goes into my stash.  The other benefit to this is that soon your stash will be big enough that you’ll seldom have to buy anything for smaller projects like wall hangings and table runners.

Always check your stash first, before you head for the quilt store.

Secondly:

Check the sale shelves first.  Most quilt stores have fabrics that aren’t selling well, or that have been discontinued by the seller, and if they meet your needs, you can save a bundle on fabric.

This is where I almost always get my backing fabrics.  I also don’t use batiks on the backs of my projects, it’s just too expensive, but on the sale shelves I often find very good quality fabric for half price of less.

Many fabric companies sell extra-wide material, up to 60” wide specifically for backing material, and while the dollar figure is higher $16-$20 a yard, you also need less and will need to do less cutting and piecing.

This beautiful batik is a prime example of a “single color” batik fabric.  Several different shades of orange swirl and star through it, fading from almost white through to a darker color in the low-tone highlights.

This is an example of how beautiful batiks can work together to make something great.  Only one fabric – the dark red swirl – is not a batik in this picture, yet it works beautiful with the others.

The same project used multiple batiks and regular quilting fabric.  Here the pattern is coming together, with edging down in embroidery thread which has the effect of pulling the dark colors of the different batiks through to the front.

Batiks look especially amazing when used in landscapes, or like this example, with true black fabrics.  The quality of the fabrics is approximate, but the solid black figures serve to make the beautiful batik sunset glow.

Batiks can be used with other beautiful batiks to create incredible layers within a project.  The turquoise, aqua, and purple batiks above were used in a large landscape quilt to add an “ocean” layer.