Here is a recipe and directions for a paste batik:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons of alum
(somewhere I read that the alum used for papermaking is
a better choice than the grocery store variety)
The recipe can be doubled or tripled. The paste should be
mixed until there are no lumps; a blender is useful for mixing.
Use 100% bleached or unbleached muslin that has NOT been
laundered or treated with perma-press. Tape the muslin to
a piece of corrugated cardboard. Put the paste in squeeze bottles,
apply, and leave to dry overnight.
Use paste food colors or watercolors to paint the areas between
the applied paste; mix deep, rich hues as the colors will dry
lighter than they appear to be when wet.
After the fabric is dry, chip or rub the paste off with fingers,
trim and iron fabric, and mount.
Project can be related to African adire eleke resist process, or
Japanese dye process called Sarasa.
(I haven't tried this yet, so cannot verify its success!)
