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Drawing batik with hot wax and a canting, Indonesia.
Land Tour

Batik Making Class

Hot wax, a copper canting, and a length of cloth you keep

Duration
6 hours door to door
Group
Private car, one frame each
Difficulty
Easy · steady hands help
You keep
Your finished cloth

The trip

What You're Signing Up For

Batik is a resist technique: you draw in hot wax, dye the cloth, and the wax keeps the dye out of whatever you drew. Repeat with a second colour and a second waxing and the pattern builds up in layers. It is patient, forgiving work and the results look far better than a first attempt has any right to.

The tool is a canting, a small copper reservoir on a bamboo handle that you fill with molten wax and draw with. Controlling the flow is the whole skill, and about half an hour in, most people stop fighting it.

Highlights

Why People Pick This One

  • Your own frame, cloth and canting, not a shared demonstration
  • Wax resist, dye, second waxing, second dye: the full process
  • Around three hours at the frame with a teacher beside you
  • A finished piece roughly 50 by 50 centimetres to take home
  • Design your own, or work from a traditional pattern

Full description

The Whole Thing

Batik tulis means hand-drawn batik, as opposed to batik cap which is stamped with a copper block. What you will do is tulis: molten wax applied freehand with a canting, which is a small copper spout on a bamboo handle.

Itinerary

The Trip, Stop By Stop

Timings are typical, not fixed. Your guide reshapes the day around your pace and the conditions.

  1. Hotel pickup

    Canggu, Seminyak, Kuta, Jimbaran, Sanur, Ubud

    Your driver confirms the time by message the evening before.

    Included

  2. Arrive at the workshop

    Aprons on, and a look at finished pieces to work out what you want to attempt.

  3. Design and first wax

    Sketch onto the cloth, then draw over it with the canting. This is the slow part and the good part.

  4. Dye, wax again, dye

    Two colours with a second waxing between them, which is where the pattern actually appears.

  5. Boil out and dry

    The wax is boiled off and the piece hung to dry while you eat.

  6. Back to your hotel

    Same car, same driver, cloth dry and folded.

    Included
Trip stop Pickup area Pickup is from your own accommodation inside these areas. Route is indicative, not the exact road taken.

The price covers

What's Included, And What Isn't

Included

  • Hotel pickup and drop-off across South Bali, Ubud and Canggu
  • Private air-conditioned car with English-speaking driver
  • Fuel, parking, tolls and the driver's day
  • Your own frame, cloth and canting
  • All wax and dyes for two colours
  • Around three hours of teaching
  • The finished piece, roughly 50 x 50 cm

Not included

  • Larger cloths than the one included, priced by size on the day
  • Personal spending, tips and anything you buy on the day

Before you book

Who This Trip Isn’t For

We would rather talk you out of the wrong trip than take your money for it. If any of these apply, message us and we’ll suggest something that fits better.

Anyone in good clothes

Hot wax and dye. Aprons are provided and they are not enough.

Anyone wanting something large

One session makes about fifty centimetres square. Bigger cloths need more than an afternoon.

Children under about ten

Molten wax and a dripping canting. Older children are fine with a teacher close by.

Come prepared

What To Bring

Clothes you do not mind staining

Hot wax and dye. The aprons help and they do not cover everything.

Something to tie your hair back

You will be leaning over a wax pot with a canting for most of the session.

A bag for the wet cloth

Your finished piece goes home damp. They will wrap it, but a tote saves your daypack.

Cash for the workshop shop

The finished pieces on the wall are made by the people teaching you, and they take cash.

On the trip

What It Looks Like

Tap a photo to enlarge

Before you book

Questions About This Trip

Anything not covered here? Message us. We'd rather answer first than have you book the wrong trip.

Do I need to be able to draw?

No. Plenty of people work from a traditional pattern traced onto the cloth, and it looks just as good. Freehand is available if you want it.

How big is the piece?

Around fifty by fifty centimetres, which is a decent wall hanging or a scarf. Larger cloths take longer than a single session.

Can children do this?

From about ten, with supervision. The wax is hot and the canting drips, so a teacher stays close.

Is the piece dry before we leave?

Usually. The wax is boiled off and it hangs while you eat. If it is still damp we wrap it and it dries overnight.

How is this different from the silver class?

Batik is patient and forgiving; silver is precise and permanent. Both are three hours and both send you home with something. Take either, or both on different days.

Pairs well with

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View Itinerary

Ready When You Are

Tell us your dates and how many of you there are. We'll confirm availability, pickup time and the total, usually within the hour.