Tips On How To Care For Unique Batik Clothes With Gold Leaf And Gold Dust
Batik is one of cultural art form of Indonesia especially Java island. The fame of Batik clothing is highly regarded not just in Indonesia but also in the planet. Because of the long history it has, it is reasonable that Batik is regarded as one of several eldest old-fashioned fabrics not only in Indonesia but also in the world. What makes Batik outstanding as typical Javanese art form is the existence of basic Batik design which is found on wall-carved stone relief on Prambanan statue. Made from natural material and conventional instruments, Batik is very antique to own. Because of the antique value it contains, batik requires special treatment to maintain the quality of fabric and design. Getting sufficient knowledge concerning fabric fabrication process will ease you to determine proper saving, treatment, and cleaning. By doing proper and detain treatment, you are able to make your batik well-to-do and having longer life.
To enhance the value of batik clothes, several people often add special treatments by adding gold leaf or gold dust. The use of either gold leaf or gold dust be able to bring a new look of glamour and luxury. So, the Batik cloth can have higher value on it. This kind of golden decorated batik fabric is often called as Prada Batik. And this Prada Batik with gold leaf addition is used in Jogjakarta and Surakarta area. And Prada Batik with gold dust addition is used in Central Java and surroundings. Both gold leaf and dust are applied onto fabric with handmade glue.
The handmade glue is made from a mixture of egg white, linseed oil, and yellow earth. Even though the ingredients are quite simple, yet the quality of glue is best because it will not be erased after washing. Old-fashioned Batik often uses gold pain on it but now batik often uses gold leaf plus gold dust.
There is exclusive treatment to maintain the quality of batik. The special treatment is in the area of cleaning process such as washing. For having best batik treatment, the use of detergent has to be paid attention. It’s because wrong detergent choice will make batik fabric and the design to get not as good as. And even the color can change to be lighter than it should be.
To clean batik especially the Prada one, people should use detergent with low chemical ingredients. It means that batik requires special soap which is suitable for all sensitive fabric such as cotton, silky, linen, and others. It can also be washed with Indonesia traditional food named Lerak which can be bought in traditional market. After finishing cleaning process, it’s a sure to dry either baju batik or kaos batik (Indonesian) in shade area and indirect sun lighting only. So, the color and design can be maintained well.
