Batik is the traditional Indonesian art of decorating and dyeing fabrics, and Yogyakarta is one of the most well known hubs. Batik fabrics are unique pieces of art created by drawing motifs on the fabric with wax, using a special tool with a thin metal nozzle, called “canting”. The fabric is dyed in natural or artificial colors, and the process is repeated several times according to design.

To understand if a Batik is a real hand made one, both the interior and the exterior of the fabric should look the same: if they don't, then most probably it's a cheap industrial print of a batik pattern. A real batik is unique and will most probably have some small imperfections and signs of unwanted drops of wax or color.

If you want to get a deeper knowledge of the process, we suggest you to go beyond Malioboro street, and visit a batik atelier in the historical center, or to subscribe to a crash course to get some experience first-hand. Tembi cultural center, far away from the city center, is a reliable artistic hub with free or extremely affordable Batik workshops.BatikTuk in Kasongan village is offering courses as well and it is a great option if you want to learn the traditional technique but practice with contemporary designs.