Batik Dye Test
I have had this niggling memory of a craft we did in primary school. I know it involved dye (yellow dye, I remember that) and paste. I thought it was maybe a dough paste? I was seven what do I remember.
But you don't need a comprehensive memory when Google is around. I googled "How to dye stuff using dough" and BOOM Batik came up. This is exactly what we did in school.
This is a tutorial but it's also kind of a sample test.
Pattern and Paste
I didn't do that and it was a big mistake. The lumps will clog the end of the bottle until you squeeze just a little to hard and all the dough shoots out obliterating whatever you were drawing.
Notes/tests
Experiment
Test piece A (calico) compared fabric dye vs fabric paint*.
Test piece B (a light cotton) compared fabric paint* vs fabric dye on an open weave.
Test piece C ( coloured cotton) compared fabric* paint to bleach.
* Fabric paint was watered down. About 60% paint, 40% water.
Results
Test A - I found that the fabric dye bled through the edges of the paste a lot more than the fabric paint. In future I will definitely be using fabric paint.
Test B - This had a much more open weave than the calico used in test A. It did bleed more than test A. Especially the fabric dye side. Weave/style/type of fabric does play a role in batik dye.
Test C - I had no idea if bleach would even work. In the end it worked pretty well. It did bleed around the edges a little but not much. Where it did bleed the fabric discoloured slightly, they almost looked bunt. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. It does add an aged and rustic feel to the piece.