Here in the US, we consider batiks to be wax-resist dyed fabrics, whether made by hand or machine. The word “Batik” as it is used in West Africa means hand decorated fabric, whether actual wax resist, hand or machine tied & dyed, starch resist, or one of several other means of making plain cloth beautiful. For our purposes here, the fabrics shown are divided among the categories mentioned above.

Most of the Wax Resist Fabrics come from Ghana though I purchased some in The Gambia.

Most of the Tied & Dyed Fabric comes from Senegal and The Gambia.

The Paste Resist Fabrics come from The Gambia.

To the best of my knowledge, all the materials shown in this Batik category have been dyed with colorfast aniline dyes. They are machine washable and can be line or machine dried. (The only exceptions to this “rule” of colorfast dyes are the natural indigo fabrics seen on the Indigo page which are known to run freely.)

If you think the fabrics seem to come in strange sizes, you’re right. I purchased these materials as 4 yard, 5 yard, and 6 yard lengths, and you can see the results of my more accurate measuring. At least alleged 2’ x 4’ lumber is regularized in it size.

Unless otherwise noted, this fabric is 100% Cotton Damask. Our African Batik fabric is for sale by the yard or the half yard with irregular amounts pro-rated by length.