Female Shawl in Shandong Silk

This is a hand-painted batik textile. First, a rough sketch of the pattern is drawn onto the fabric. Next, melted liquid wax is applied to the fabric with a spouted pot on areas which will not be dyed. The entire fabric is then soaked in a dye bath, allowing areas where wax was not applied to be dyed, and vice versa. The wax is then melted away and the process is repeated until the final pattern is completed. White areas of the fabric are created by keeping them coated in wax. A slight textured pattern of irregular fine lines is created in areas where the wax had cracked, allowing dye to penetrate the fabric. This women’s shawl was made using silk produced in Shandong, China which is woven into an abundance of patterns atop the base of light brown shading, with tassels on both the upper and lower ends to create a unique style.