Although our trip to Malaysia was not essentially a "textile" trip, I did some reading on classics or traditionals specific to this area - just in case we stumbled on something grand, or even unexpected. As one might! Forewarned is forearmed so they say!!
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| Batik Sarong |
Batik is a wax resist process of decorating cloth. Essentially, hot wax is either drawn directly onto a fabric length with a canting, or stamped on, and then the whole cloth is immersed in a bath of dye. This process is repeated to come up with a final, multi-coloured product. The wax can often crack, giving the resulting fabric a crazed appearance.
Batik is considered the national cloth of Malaysia. If you fly Malaysian Airlines you may have noticed the stewards uniforms? Otherwise, plenty of sarongs in imitation batik were about in stores for souvenir hunters. (For interest, imitation fabrics are generally screened, and can be spotted easily as both sides of a true batik fabric are the same). I did come across a factory in Penang a few years ago where demonstrations of this technique were conducted for interested visitors.
Kain Songket is usually woven by hand on a frame loom. Generally, a metallic weft thread is partnered with cotton or silk warp. The result is a rich and boldly coloured fabric highlighted by an intricate traditional patterning of gold or silver threads. Production of kain songket is a traditional craft practiced in Borneo, Kelantan and Terengganu.
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| Kain Songket |
Generally designs on both types of cloth are based on traditional Muslim patterns, with geometric or floral being popular, fitting in with religious beliefs.
This review is a bit basic. This was unfortunately not the trip to launch out to find production centres. However, the Craft Museum had some lovely examples but I settled myself with a few little mass produced souvenirs to satisfy a shopper's urge. If you want more something more specific on techniques then head to your local library, craft museum or surf the web for a bit. Try this one for kain songket and this one for batik.
