Artisan Batik Panels at Artistic Artifacts

Artistic Artifacts has so much to offer our shoppers, and one of the ways we are different than many quilt/fabrics stores are our Artisan Handcrafts section, where you can find the handmade products we import from our partners in Indonesia & India. This corner of our website also features gift ideas and more, including the hand-drawn batik panels included in this blog post, shared from our Monday newsletter spotlights.

The work of some of Indonesia’s finest batik artists, each of our batik panels are individual and unique. Due to their handcrafted nature, differences occur as they are created — you can expect to see variations from our example photo in the sketched outlines, fill patterns, dye colors and more, but that means that means you’re receiving a textile treasure that is one of a kind to use in your quilts, as home décor, to embellish garments and more!

2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse in the Chinese Zodiac, making our horse themed panels by the artist Hari Agung — now marked down — ideal for our new quilt, pillow, etc. for yourself or the equine lovers in your life! We also have a couple project kits remaining that include a large 30 in. x 35 in. Horse panel paired with three 1-yard pieces of coordinating fabric plus three spools of Wonderfil Specialty Thread — you can immediately get to designing, piecing and sewing an amazing quilt or garment!

Many of the panels that I brought back from my recent textile tour in Indonesia feature new designs and styles like the beautiful examples above! Many of these panels are either one of a kind or only available in very limited quantities — shop now for the best selection.

Pictured above, we love how the Cherrywood Hand-Dyed Fabrics go with our batik panels. The rich colors really work well with the various panel designs for a quilt or a garment. Left to right, the Fat Quarter bundle of Cherrywood looks great with this panel by Bambang Dharmo; the colors of the Jaka panel and the Hari Agung design were easily matched with selections of Cherrywood. Our batik fabrics also make perfect matches — and we really love adding in Aborigine-designed fabrics in the mix when making a panel quilt!

We have a brand new addition to our popular fabric subscription boxes — be among the first to open up our Batik Adventure box, arriving in August, of 14 fat quarters (example above) of authentic batik fabric. Each box of authentic Indonesian-made batik — curated by me! — will be packed with the rich colors and intricate wax-resist designs and patterns by skilled artisans, plus you’ll also find an occasional surprise gift. Join in the fun!

Several years ago I wrote Colorful Batik Panel Quilts: 28 Quilting and Embellishing Inspirations from Around the World, full of ideas and inspiration for creating textile art using a favorite panel (see my blog post introducing it). Over the years I’ve shared my panel art quilt projects on this blog; examples include:

• My Wonky Log Cabin using a Hari Agung floral panel,
• Stitched & Silks Mahyar Batik Panel Quilt,
• Batik Panel Art Quilt with Sari Silk Border, and
• two posts covering beading on panel art quilts: Beaded Embroidery Stitching on Panels Blog Post plus Finishing a Quilt with a Touch of Beading Blog Post

Using batik panels in quilts has also been a topic many times during our weekly Facebook Live presentations — visit the Artistic Artifacts YouTube channel for lots of ideas on how to use batik panels in an art quilt, discussing techniques used, how to select fabrics to coordinate with your panel, plus close-up look at finished quilts!

‘Batik’ is a word with a Javanese origin referring to the wax-resist dyeing technique. Above and below are illustrations of the multiple steps of creating a batik panel, adding and removing wax (which acts as a resist) and multiple dye baths to build color. You can appreciate the many painstaking hours — not to mention the artistic vision and skill — it takes to handcraft batik panels like those we offer our customers!

If you’re local to our store or visiting us on a trip to our area, ask to see this visual demo example panel to truly appreciate the amount of time and effort that go into every piece! Our 100% cotton panels are colorfast and completely washable, since the last stage of the batik process is boiling out the wax.

Artistic Artifacts Creative Retreats global tours are focused on textiles and include visits to artisans and hands-on activities. (The exception is my annual visit to Italy, which is mixed media focused. Two spaces have opened up for this all supplies provide trip to Ischia di Castro, so you can join me in September!) Above left, during a previous trip to Indonesia, we visited a batik cultural preservation center and museum, the House of Danar Hadi. You can see the artisans demonstrating the intricate process of making batik, using tjantings to draw the designs with batik wax.

I work with Aahilya Holidays for our international textile tour journeys to India, Indonesia and more. “Our last Indonesia Textile & Cultural Journey with Judy Gula was an incredible success and completely sold out!” wrote the founder of Aahilya Holidays, Isha Sharma (pictured above right on our last tour of Indonesia) with the news that I’m returning to Indonesia June 15-29, 2027! “If you missed out last time — or simply can't wait to experience it again — this is the perfect journey for every textile, craft, and culture enthusiast.” I can’t wait to return, and hope you’ll join me! Isha is the best tour operator/guide and takes care of every guest and detail beautifully. You’ll witness skilled artisans at work, preserving age-old traditions and creating exquisite masterpieces. You’ll also participate in hands-on workshops in batik printing, natural dyeing and more; tour famous temples and textile museums and enjoy shopping excursions to purchase authentic, handmade Indonesian textiles!

Batik is among the most celebrated Indonesian textiles, originating there and remaining a living tradition today, practiced by skilled artisans who pass their knowledge down through generations. Beyond batik, Indonesia is home to an impressive range of textile traditions, including ikat, songket, tenun, and tapis. Each of these textiles is created using different materials, looms, and dyeing processes, resulting in fabrics of remarkable beauty and meaning. 

I’ll also be making my first visit to Uzbekistan October 17–November 1, 2027 and am so excited to experience that country’s textile traditions! Visit Aahilya Holidays to learn more about this Textile, Craft & Cultural Journey of Uzbekistan and book your seat to experience it with me!

Batik panels are not just for quilts or wall hangings! The batik panel-embellished jean jackets we have on display at the shop never fail to get comments — Creative Mind Marie S. is pictured above modeling one of hers that she made after being inspired by our examples! We were lucky to have Marie as a neighbor living next door to our shop for a time, and were always delighted to see her show & tell in person!

In 2023, after repeated requests from our viewers, I presented How to Embellish Jean Jackets with Batik Panels during one of our weekly Saturday morning Facebook Live events. I described my process of looking at both the artisan batik panel and the specific jacket construction so that both are enhanced and that each jacket is one of a kind. Visit our YouTube channel to watch this and other fiber & mixed media tutorials.

Embellishing garments is such a fun way to use batik panels! Above left to right, a jacket made by Marie S. and gifted to a friend; Dyann Black in her own jacket transformation; and an example in our shop created by Liz Kettle, embellished with decorative hand stitching.

Creative Mind and Judy’s Altered Minds (JAMs) member Ming Z. has also wowed us with several embellished jacket projects using batik panels; the above example is by the artist Jaka. “Thank you for the inspiration Judy Gula,” she writes. “Embellished the batik panel with assorted beads (both purchased from the shop), then hand-stitched onto denim jacket.” Beautiful!

Not a sewist? Above left, Creative Mind Ramona G. had her collection of panels professionally framed with identical frames to create and absolutely stunning gallery wall display. Right, more panel embellished jean jacket examples by Marie!

And for expert instruction on creating a one of a kind jacket, join Fit for Art Patterns and create your own patchwork jacket at our shop with our October 9-10: Get Going Sewing Quilted Jackets class. Rae Cumbie and Carrie Emerson are the authors of Sewing Quilted Patchwork Jackets, your class text, which covers four approaches, ten designs and their two downloadable patterns. Quilted Jackets are a huge fashion trend and this Artistic Artifacts class will have you ready for fall and winter weather — and compliments on your style!