BATIK – WAX RESIST TECHNIQUE

The wax printing technique is traditionally known as Batik, but Kozii grabs it and crafts it with its own twist. By blending in exclusive block-printed patterns to this technique, Kozii creates a fusion of designs and simultaneously a line of clothing that is contemporary and at the same time safeguarding tradition.In block-printed batik, the wax is initially heated and melted. It is then stamped on the fabric with the carved wooden blocks. Once it cools and dryes, the fabric is dipped into a color drum where the cooled wax acts as a resist component by not allowing the dye to penetrate the waxed areas. Finally, the fabric is dipped in a hot water solution that melts and removes the wax, leaving the area covered with wax in white or neutral color, creating in this way desired motifs.Batik prints are especially unique due to the way certain wax mixes "crack" during the dyeing process, allowing lines of color to break-in supposedly resistant areas, making each piece invariably unique.The result from this craft is beautiful in its graphic simplicity and organic feel, both strong characteristics of the brand and that make it so easily distinguishable along its way.

BLOCK PRINT

Kozii is the result of many years of thorough research and travelling around the world, seeking to uncover exclusive materials, printing or weaving techniques, giving in this way birth to an organically born sustainable brand.Amongst other processes used and experimented by Kozii, Block Printing, remains, undoubtedly, its star technique. Woodblock printing on textiles is the process of printing patterns onto fabrics, usually of linen, cotton or silk, by means of incised wooden blocks. It is the earliest, simplest and slowest of all methods of textile printing, capable of yielding highly artistic results, some of which are unobtainable by any other method. There is evidence that it was practiced as early as the fifth century BC, with actual fragments found from as early as the fifteenth century in India, China and Japan.

In printmaking, the drawings are hand carved into rosewood blocks which are then used as stamps to transfer the prints onto the fabrics. It is necessary only to ink the block and bring it into firm and even contact with the cloth to achieve the desired print. For color printing, multiple blocks are used, each for one color, often creating vibrant prints and vivid palette s.
Even though block printing by hand is an extremely slow art form, it is capable of yielding highly creative results, some of which unobtainable by any other method. Still today, and for this same reason, many artists develop their work taking on these traditional techniques in their work in contemporary modern art.
In these changing times, it is important to remember that no project makes sense if it doesn’t create some kind of sustainable network that closely safeguards all the people involved and its environmental impact along the production process. While investing on ancient block printing techniques and in working collaboratively with a skilled team of printers in designing and producing its collections, Kozii promotes a synergy between design, development and sustainability, while inspiring good business practices and the continuing revitalization of traditional skills.Kozii’s collections most usually make a special reverence to this ancient hand printing technique while upkeeping Kozii’s very own geometric style, two characteristics that have made Kozii’s aesthetic identity so easily distinguishable year-round. Link to collection.

INDIGO 

The Indigo Dyeing Technique is an amazing dying and printing procedure that has fascinated many people for centuries. It is also known as the blue gold and Kozii’s team just loves to incorporate it in its collections, over and over again.The color indigo is named after the wheel blue indigo dye derived from the plant Indigofera tinctoria, common in tropical climates. Cultivation is believed to have begun as far back as 5.000 years in what is today Pakistan and Northwest India. Indigo is the responsible dye for the ultramarine denim color that is so familiar to all of us.Nowadays, the idea of such a beautiful and special natural dye on natural fibers is certainly appealing amongst eco-friendly earth-conscious designers and consumers, and so is for our team and customers. A typical Indigo vat is about 3 to 5 meters deep and sunk into the floor of a covered area. The contents are like a living organism and must be continuously nurtured. When a vat is started it is filled to about a quarter of its capacity with a thick sandy dye liquor that has been retained from a previous vat. Indigo powder, slaked lime and molasses are then added and the whole thing is topped up with water.For the next two weeks the vat is fed daily with these ingredients, until it begins to look and feel ready. Finally, about 20 days after starting, when it is judged perfect, dyeing can begin.In order to create a pattern area of cloth have to be prepared to resist the dye. This is usually done by block printing with a paste that prevents the dye from penetrating the fabric, but other methods such as tie-dye are also used.The resist paste is made by mixing earth, slaked lime, a fine powder obtained from the action of insects on stored wheat and water. This mixture is pressed through cloth to give a smooth adhesive paste.As each length is printed, it is dusted with saw dust to stop it from smudging before it is totally dry. The printed cloths are then dried in the sun before dipping in the vat.Each time the cloth is dipped and exposed to the air a darker shade of blue is achieved and only when the cloth has its desired shade of blue it is washed to remove the resist paste and any excess indigo that has not adhered to the cloth.