Batiks By Design

Batik is an Indonesian word that traditionally refers to using a wax resist dyeing method to create designs in fabric. The word is a combination of two Javanese words. "Amba" which means "to write" and and "titik" meaning "dot". Our fabrics that we refer to as traditional batik design fabrics are batiks because of their designs.  They are 100% cotton and screen printed using batik designs from Indonesia that date back more than 1000 years - hence the name Batiks by Design.  As an Indonesian friend of mine said to me, "If they had the machines over a thousand years ago when they began making these fabrics, they would have used them!".  Anywhere in southeast Asia that you travel you will encounter these type of batik designs.  We guarantee the quality of our fabrics and we know you'll love the designs.  They are wonderful when used with Bali batik and hand dyed fabrics.  Check out our gallery to see what we've made with them.

Hi! My name is Patti Oakley and I'm the owner of Batiks By Design. At Batiks by Design, we are one of the only websites offering Indonesian Java batik designs printed on 100% cotton fabric in a large variety of colors and patterns. Having lived in Indonesia for 2 years, I've learned that the Indonesians accept the screen printed batik design fabrics as batiks. They feel that the wax resist method was how the fabrics were made in the past and now they are made with newer and better technology. The machine printing process gives the fabrics designs that are very intricate and colors that are clear and beautiful. Jantik (pronounced chanteek), meaning beautiful, describes these fabrics! Because we buy machine made fabrics, we can offer you a lower price than hand drawn or hand printed batiks with the traditional designs that have been produced for thousands of years. These fabrics do not shrink, barely wrinkle, and don't bleed when they are washed. The cotton is excellent quality. Over the years, many of my quilting friends and I have tested the batik textiles by washing them in fairly "aggressive" conditions (like in the water in Jakarta!) to make sure that the colors don't fade or run together and to test the quality of the fabrics. We've been very satisfied with the excellent quality of the fabrics.

We've added Bali batiks to both coordinate with our traditional designs and because we love them too. We love Bali and have visited there several times. I especially love Dewi Mas, a store in Dempasar that carries a large variety of Bali fabrics and Ubud, an artist town in the mountains. We carry Bali hand dyed and hand printed fabrics from Hoffman, Timeless Treaures, Island Batiks, and Batik Textiles. Patterns are chosen to enhance the beauty of the Traditional and Bali batiks together.

Besides selling batik fabrics online, we occasionally do quilt shows. This year we are doing a couple shows:

• AQS Lancaster Show in March 2010
  
• AQS Paducah Show in April 2010
  
• AQS Knoxville Show in July 2010
• AQS Des Moines Show in October 2010
• International Quilt Festival, Houston, October 2010