Batik, Tie-Dye and Weaving

Who it is for. Beginners with no formal certificate, including school leavers, women's groups and persons with disabilities. National Proficiency I is the first level of Ghana's TVET framework.

Why batik, tie-dye and weaving

• Ghanaian makers produce batik and tie-dye on cotton calico with wax, salt, soda ash, caustic soda ("soda"), hydros and dyes, and sell in places such as Kumasi and Nigeria.
• The trade can start quickly. Under the National Apprenticeship Programme in Nkwanta South, about 15 young trainees made over 200 pieces of batik in less than two weeks and sold them in local markets.
• Groups still train women in batik and tie-dye for income. In May 2026 a five-day course in Accra trained 21 women aged 18 to 50 and gave each a start-up toolkit.
• Kente weaving has new legal protection and is valued at home and abroad, but weavers say their pay does not match the hours of work.
• CTVET has approved programmes in Textiles Design Technology (from National Proficiency I) and Weaving (National Proficiency I).

How to read this manual

• Every unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria, a range and the evidence your assessor needs. You are judged Competent or Not Yet Competent.
• About 70% of the time is practical (the same split CTVET used for its Oil Palm programme).
• Steps are numbered. Do them in order. A line that ends with a source name in brackets comes from the sources list at the back. A step with no source is standard safe practice or the author's teaching advice, not a measured figure.
• Any number marked example is made up to practise sums. Replace it with your own local prices.
• Every unit ends with a Check yourself of three questions. Answers are in the Teacher Copy.

Competency standard

Range. The training workshop: dye area, waxing table, drying line and chemical store. Evidence. PPE check; emergency drill; workshop set-up checklist; oral questions.

The hazards, one by one

Dye powders. Dye powders are very fine and dangerous to breathe in. Some reactive dyes can cause asthma-like allergy. Once a person is sensitised, even a tiny amount can bring on a runny nose, wheezing, chest tightness and breathlessness, so the UK safety body says to treat all reactive dyes as if they can do this. Some reactive, vat and disperse dyes can also cause skin allergy.

Caustic soda (sodium hydroxide, "soda"). It burns skin and eyes. First aid is to wash the eyes or skin with water at once and get medical help. It attacks aluminium, tin and zinc, and mixing it with water gives off heat. Never use an aluminium pot or spoon for caustic soda.

Hydros (sodium hydrosulphite, also called sodium dithionite). A safety data sheet gives it the signal word Danger and says it is "self-heating; may catch fire", harmful if swallowed and causes serious eye irritation. It must be kept away from moist air, water and excess heat, and contact with acids releases a toxic gas. It smells like rotten eggs.

Hot wax. Batik wax is melted hot. Wax that touches a flame or overheats can catch fire, and burning wax cannot be put out with water: the water turns to steam at once and throws burning wax around. Use only a fire blanket or an extinguisher meant for liquid fires. An electric batik wax pot sold in Europe has a maximum of about 135 °C and a safety thermostat.

Wastewater. Used dye baths are strongly coloured and may be very alkaline. Hydros is harmful to water life, and its safety sheet says not to let it into drains or surface water. Caustic soda is also harmful to water life. Unit 4 shows how to handle wastewater.

Your back. Weavers and dyers who sit for long hours, bend and carry heavy wet cloth get back pain. In a study of women handloom weavers in Burkina Faso, about 71% had low back pain in the past 12 months; carrying 20 to 25 kg during dyeing and long hours in forced postures were among the causes.

Your PPE

Workshop rules

1. Nothing to eat, drink or smoke in the dyeing area.
2. Dye tools are only for dye. Never use cooking pots and spoons, because they keep hazardous amounts of chemicals. Mark every dye tool with paint.
3. Label every container with the chemical name, "DANGER" where needed, and first aid.
4. Keep caustic soda and hydros locked up, dry, in tightly closed containers, away from acids. At Level 1 only the trainer opens these tins.
5. Add chemicals to water, never water to chemicals, slowly, stirring with a long stick (author's teaching rule, because caustic soda gives off heat in water).
6. Wash dye off skin with soap and water only. Do not use bleach on skin.
7. Never leave hot wax alone. Switch it off before you walk away.
8. Clean dye dust with a wet cloth, never by dry brushing.
9. People with asthma or skin allergies tell the trainer before the course. They should avoid weighing dye powders.

Set up a dye station

1. Choose an open, shaded place with moving air and a firm, level floor.
2. Put a table at waist height, so you do not bend all day.
3. Place a bucket of clean water and an eyewash bottle at every station.
4. Put basins on the floor or a low stand, never at head height, so splashes do not reach the face.
5. Keep a wastewater drum with a lid next to the station.
6. Keep the wax area separate from the dye area, with a fire blanket and a bucket of dry sand beside it.

Emergency drills

Check yourself: Unit 1

1. Why must you never throw water on a wax fire?
2. What must you do first if caustic soda splashes into an eye?
3. Name two things that make hydros dangerous.

Competency standard

Range. Calico, grey baft, cotton T-shirts and a polyester sample. Evidence. Fibre test record; prepared cloth; cutting record.

Which cloth takes which dye

• Cotton (and other plant fibres such as linen and rayon) is the cloth for this trade. Reactive and vat dyes are made for cellulose (plant) fibres such as cotton.
• Wool and silk are damaged by caustic soda, so never put wool in a vat dye bath.
• Polyester does not take these dyes well. Cloth sold as "cotton" may be a mix. Test it first (below).
• Ghanaian makers use calico for batik and tie-dye. One maker in Tema reported a bale of 600 yards costing about GH¢6,800 (second grade) or over GH¢7,500 (first grade) in 2023, and said supply had become harder as local mill output fell.
• Ghana imports most of its textile raw materials, including dyes and fabrics, according to a 2026 account. Buy from established fabric sellers, such as those in Takoradi's Market Circle.

The burn test (is it cotton?)

1. Cut a small strip (about 2 cm by 10 cm) from the edge.
2. Hold it with tweezers over a metal tray, outside, away from wax and chemicals.
3. Touch the end to a match flame and watch.
4. Cotton burns quickly with a yellow flame, smells like burning paper, and leaves soft grey ash.
5. Polyester melts, drips, smells sharp and leaves a hard bead.
6. Record what you see. (This is common practice in textile classes; it is a quick guide, not a laboratory test.)

Prepare (scour) the cloth

New cloth carries starch, dressing and oil from the factory. Washing them out first helps the dye take evenly. Fabric makers advise pre-washing to remove dirt, grease or sizing.

1. Fill a basin with warm water and add a little ordinary washing soap or detergent.
2. Soak the cloth for about an hour, pressing it down now and then.
3. Rub gently; rinse in clean water until it no longer foams.
4. Wring out and dry flat or on a line, in the shade if it is very sunny.
5. Iron or pull it flat before you measure.

Some trainers boil calico with soap and a little soda ash to scour it more strongly; do this only with the trainer, wearing PPE (author's teaching advice).

Measuring and cutting

• Cloth in Ghana is often sold by the yard (about 91.4 cm); patterns may use metres. 1 yard = 0.9144 m; 1 m = about 1.09 yards.
• A full "piece" of wax print is commonly 6 yards and a half piece 3 yards (not verified; check with your seller).
• To get a straight edge on calico, snip 2 cm into the edge and tear across. Tearing follows the thread line.
• Write every length in your logbook.

Check yourself: Unit 2

1. Why must new cloth be washed before dyeing?
2. How does cotton behave in the burn test?
3. Why should you never put wool in a vat dye bath?

Competency standard

Range. Four 1-yard squares; one 2-yard piece; reactive dye, cold method. Evidence. Four finished samples; batch records; oral questions.

How tie-dye works

Tie-dye is a resist method: string, raffia, rubber bands or folds stop dye reaching parts of the cloth, which stay pale. The tighter the binding, the sharper the white line.

Tools and materials

Four basic patterns

1. Spiral (swirl)

1. Lay the damp cloth flat. Pinch the centre and twist, keeping the cloth flat on the table, until it forms a round "cake".
2. Put three or four rubber bands or strings across it so it looks like a cut pie.

2. Circles (sunburst)

1. Pick up the cloth at a point and let it hang.
2. Bind it tightly every 3 to 5 cm down the length. Wrap several turns in one place for a thick white ring.
3. Put a stone or marble inside the tip for a small circle at the centre.

3. Stripes (pleats)

1. Fold the cloth backwards and forwards like a paper fan, along its length or diagonally.
2. Bind it every 5 to 8 cm along the folded strip.

4. Crumple (marble)

1. Crush the damp cloth into a tight ball.
2. Bind it criss-cross with string or bands so it holds its shape.

Dyeing with reactive dye (cold method)

Reactive dyes need soda ash to fix the colour to cotton. Two common ways:

A. Soda soak, then squeeze bottle (good for several colours)

1. Put on PPE, including a dust mask while you handle powders.
2. Dissolve soda ash in warm water: one dye maker's rate is 1 cup (0.23 kg) per 1 gallon (3.79 L), which is about 60 g per litre.
3. Soak the tied cloth for 20 minutes, then squeeze out the extra. Do not rinse.
4. Mix the dye with warm water in squeeze bottles. A dye supplier's guide uses about 2 teaspoons of dye in 8 oz (about 240 ml) of warm water for most colours, and more for dark ones.
5. Squeeze dye into the folds, section by section. Turn it over and do the back.
6. Wrap the cloth in plastic to keep it wet and leave it. One guide leaves it 24 hours.

B. Dip in a dye bath (one colour)

1. Fill a bucket with enough water to cover the cloth freely; a dyer's protocol uses about 30 times the cloth weight in water.
2. Paste the dye in a little warm water first, then stir it into the bath.
3. Wet the tied cloth and put it in. Lift and turn it every few minutes for even colour.
4. Add the soda ash solution in parts during dyeing, as the dye maker says; one protocol adds it in three parts at 20, 30 and 40 minutes and lifts the cloth out at about 100 minutes.

Salt. Many dyers add salt to help reactive dye go onto cotton; the Tema maker uses salt to help dyes hold and not fade. Follow the amount on your dye packet.

Open, rinse and wash

1. Rinse the tied cloth under cold running water until the water runs nearly clear.
2. Cut or untie the strings and rinse again.
3. Wash in hot water with detergent to remove loose dye.
4. Dry in the shade; strong sun can fade some colours.

Common faults

Check yourself: Unit 3

1. Why do tight ties give sharp patterns?
2. What does soda ash do in reactive dyeing?
3. How long does the soda soak take, and should you rinse after it?

Competency standard

Range. Reactive dye baths; one trainer-prepared vat bath; one natural dye bath. Evidence. Colour chart; vat sample; wastewater record; oral questions.

The three dye families

Vat dyes: how they work

A vat dye does not dissolve in plain water. The dyer adds caustic soda (alkali) and hydros (a reducing agent). Together they change the dye into a soluble "leuco" form that can enter the cotton. When the cloth comes out into the air, oxygen turns the dye back to its insoluble, strong colour, locked in the fibre. Indigo is the oldest vat dye: it is yellowish in the bath and turns green and then blue in the air. Vat dyes are very wash-fast.

A textbook gives the vatting temperature as 50 to 60 °C, dyeing for 45 to 60 minutes, then airing (oxidation) and soaping at the boil. The bath must keep enough caustic soda and hydros, because hydros breaks down in air.

Dipping in a vat bath (trainee steps)

1. Put on full PPE. Check that the eyewash and clean water bucket are beside you.
2. Wet the cloth in clean water and squeeze it, so it goes in evenly and does not carry air bubbles into the bath.
3. Lower the cloth gently into the bath. Do not splash or stir hard; stirring adds air and spoils the bath.
4. Keep it under for the time your trainer gives, moving it gently with a stick.
5. Lift it out slowly, squeeze it over the bath, and open it out in the air. Watch the colour change as it oxidises.
6. For a darker shade, dip again after it has fully changed colour. Several dips in a weaker bath rub off less than one dip in a strong bath.
7. Rinse, then wash in hot soapy water to remove loose dye.

Natural dyes

• The dark brown adinkra dye (aduro) is made by soaking, pounding and boiling the inner bark and roots of the badie tree (Bridelia ferruginea), then straining and boiling it down until thick.
• A Ghana study tested dyes from 21 local plants on cotton. Nineteen gave strong colours that were fast to light and washing; one (baobab) was too weak and one (Bixa orellana) faded within six weeks. Sodium carbonate (soda ash) improved the colour and fastness of the badie dye.
• If you use a mordant, use alum; avoid chrome and other toxic metal salts.
• Never cut bark from trees in forest reserves without permission. Take bark from a small part of the trunk so the tree lives (author's advice).

Colour mixing

Dyes mix like paints. Start from three primaries: yellow, red (magenta) and blue (turquoise). Mix in small amounts and test on a scrap every time.

1. Make a strong "stock" of each primary.
2. Mix with a measuring spoon, writing down every spoon.
3. Dip a cotton strip, dry it, and stick it on your colour chart with the recipe.
4. Remember: dyed cloth looks darker wet than dry. Judge colour only when dry.

Fixing and washing: making colour last

1. Give reactive dye its full fixing time with soda ash before rinsing.
2. Air vat-dyed cloth until the colour has fully changed.
3. Rinse cold first, then warmer, until the water runs clear.
4. Wash hot with soap or detergent: a textbook soaps vat-dyed cloth at the boil.
5. Do a simple wash test: wash a dry sample with a white cotton scrap in hot soapy water. If the white scrap picks up colour, wash the batch again.
6. Do a simple rub test: rub the dry cloth hard with a white cotton cloth 10 times. Heavy colour on the white cloth means poor fixing or too much dye on the surface. A Ghana study found that batiks dyed with correct, steady recipes had good fastness to washing, rubbing and light.

Wastewater: never into the gutter

Level 1 wastewater routine (trainer-led):

1. Collect all used baths and first rinses in the wastewater drum with a lid.
2. Reuse baths where you can: a reactive bath can often dye a second, lighter batch.
3. Let the drum stand so solids settle.
4. Your trainer tests the pH with pH paper and, if needed, brings it near neutral before any further handling.
5. Your trainer arranges disposal in the way the EPA or Assembly advises. Record the date and volume.

Check yourself: Unit 4

1. What two chemicals make a vat dye dissolve?
2. What turns vat-dyed cloth back to its true colour?
3. Name one safer mordant for natural dyes.

Competency standard

Range. One 2-yard piece in one colour; one 1-yard piece with two colours. Evidence. Stamp; two batik pieces; wax log; oral questions.

What batik is

Batik is made by stamping or drawing wax on cloth so the waxed parts do not take the dye. The wax is removed at the end by boiling or scraping. In Ghana, batik makers use carved foam stamps made from local rubber; they are lighter and soak up more wax than the older wooden stamps used for adinkra cloth. In an Accra studio, patterns are drawn on a foam block and the block is dipped in wax to set it.

Tools and materials

Make a foam stamp

1. Draw your design on paper first. Keep it simple: circles, lines, hearts, leaves, stars, your own shapes.
2. Trace it on a foam block about 4 to 6 cm thick.
3. Cut away the background with a sharp knife, 1 to 2 cm deep, leaving the design raised. Cut away from your hand.
4. Glue a handle (a stick or small block) on the back.
5. Dip the face in hot wax once to seal it, as Accra batik makers do. Let it cool.
6. Test it on scrap paper or cloth.

Melt the wax safely

1. Set up the wax area away from the dye area, with the fire blanket and sand ready.
2. Use a double boiler or a thermostatic pot. Never put a wax pot straight on an open flame.
3. Put a thermometer in the wax. A European batik pot has a maximum of about 135 °C. Keep your wax below that.
4. If the wax smokes, it is too hot. Turn the heat down at once.
5. The wax is ready when it is clear and runny and goes right through the cloth (the waxed spot looks see-through from the back). If it sits white on top, it is too cool and the dye will creep under it.

Apply the wax

Stamping

1. Lay the cloth flat on newspaper or plastic.
2. Dip the stamp face in the wax, let the drips fall back, and press it firmly on the cloth for 1 to 2 seconds.
3. Lift straight up. Check the back: the wax must show through.
4. Re-dip for every print. Work in rows; use a chalk line or a ruler for a straight repeat.

Tjanting lines and dots

1. Fill the tjanting cup half full with hot wax.
2. Hold a scrap of cloth under the spout as you carry it, to catch drips.
3. Draw lines with a steady, smooth movement. Practise on scrap first.

Brushing: use a brush to fill large areas or to make stripes. In an Accra studio, makers stamp first, then add brush stripes, then pour wax over large areas.

Dye and dewax

1. Dye the waxed cloth in a cold bath, so the wax does not melt. Ghanaian makers use reactive dye for backgrounds and vat dye for designs.
2. As the wax cools it cracks slightly and lets fine lines of dye in. This "crackle" is part of the batik look. For more crackle, crumple the waxed cloth before dyeing.
3. Rinse in clear water and dry in the sun before waxing and dyeing again.
4. For a second colour: wax the parts you want to keep in the first colour, then dye in the darker second colour. Start light, end dark.
5. Dewax: put the cloth in hot water and lift it in and out until the wax melts away, then rinse in cold water. In an Accra studio, the cloth is boiled and stirred until the wax comes off.
6. Recover the wax: let the water cool; the wax floats and sets. Skim it off and save it for reuse, as Accra makers do.
7. Wash and dry the cloth. Iron between newspaper to lift the last wax.

Common faults

Check yourself: Unit 5

1. How do you know the wax has gone right through the cloth?
2. Why is the waxed cloth dyed in a cold bath?
3. What should you do if the wax starts to smoke?

Competency standard

Range. A frame loom or nail board per pair; cotton yarn in three colours. Evidence. A woven strip at least 30 cm long; oral questions.

Words you need

In Kente, patterns are known mainly by the warp stripes; simple warp-stripe cloths use plain weave with one pair of heddles, and richly decorated cloths need a third heddle. Kente is woven in narrow strips that are sewn together into a large cloth.

Make and warp a frame loom

1. Use a strong wooden frame (an old picture frame) or a board about 40 by 30 cm with a row of small nails 1 cm apart at the top and bottom.
2. Tie the yarn to the first nail. Wind it down and up, around each nail, keeping the same firm tension. The warp should feel like a guitar string, not a rope.
3. Tie off at the last nail.
4. Weave a stick or a strip of card across the bottom to give a straight starting line.

Weave plain weave

1. Wind weft yarn on a flat stick (your shuttle).
2. Row 1: pass the shuttle over one warp, under the next, all the way across.
3. Row 2: go back under the threads you went over, and over those you went under.
4. Leave the weft in a gentle arch, then press it down with a comb. An arch stops the edges pulling in.
5. Change colour every few rows to make stripes. Tuck the old and new yarn ends into the warp.
6. Check your edges every 5 rows: they should be straight, not waisted.
7. When the strip is 30 cm, weave a few rows of a thick yarn, then tie the warp ends in pairs and cut off.

Your body at the loom

• Sit on a chair of the right height with your back supported, feet flat.
• Get up and stretch every 30 to 45 minutes. Long hours in fixed postures and long years of weaving are linked to back and neck pain in handloom weavers.
• Work in good light, so you do not lean in.

Kente: what it is and the rules

• Ghana's Kente is a protected geographical indication (GI). Kente became Ghana's first protected GI in August 2025. The main weaving hubs are Bonwire and Adanwomase (Ashanti) and Agotime-Kpetoe, Agbozume and Tafi Atome (Volta).
• Since the GI, only cloth woven traditionally in the approved communities may be called and sold as "Kente". The GI tag is used only when the agreed standards are met.
• Kente weaving was added to UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage in December 2024. Government has said kente weaving should be taught in schools.
• Weaving Kente is traditionally a man's work, and weavers usually train for years under a master.

Check yourself: Unit 6

1. What is the difference between warp and weft?
2. Why do you leave the weft in an arch before beating it?
3. Can you sell your printed striped cloth as "Kente"? Why?

Competency standard

Range. The trainee's own products and plan. Evidence. One finished product; costing sheet; one-page plan.

Simple products you can make now

• Scarves and head wraps: a strip of batik or tie-dye about 0.5 by 2 yards, hemmed.
• Table napkins and table runners: squares or strips, hemmed.
• Cloth by the yard: in pieces of 2, 4 or 6 yards for dressmakers. A seller in Accra advertised 4 yards of tie-dye/batik at GH¢150 in October 2026.
• Shirts and dresses: work with a tailor; the hub's Garment Making manual teaches sewing. Batik shirts were advertised at about GH¢99 in October 2026.
• Fugu Wednesdays and weekly "Ghanaian wear" days create demand for local cloth.

Finish a scarf or napkin

1. Iron the cloth flat.
2. Turn the edge under 0.5 cm, press; turn under again 0.5 cm, press.
3. Sew by hand with small stitches or ask a tailor to machine-hem.
4. Trim threads. Check that corners are square and the hem is even.
5. Do the wash and rub tests (Unit 4) on an offcut.
6. Fold neatly, label and pack in a clean bag.

Quality check before you sell

Cost and price

Location settings that give good returns

Small business ideas and ingenuity

Market yourself

• Photos sell cloth. Take clear photos in daylight: the whole piece, a close-up of the pattern, and someone wearing it.
• WhatsApp Business, Instagram and Facebook are the main ways small Ghanaian fashion firms market. Post new pieces with the price and size.
• Samples: carry a small bag of swatches and a price list.
• Be honest: say "batik", "tie-dye", "hand-dyed" or "Kente-inspired", never "Kente" for your own cloth.
• Care label: tell buyers how to wash it ("Wash cold, separately, the first time").

Accessibility

Ghana's Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) protects the rights of persons with disabilities, including to work. Training centres for persons with physical disabilities in Ghana teach crafts such as sewing, basket weaving, leather work and kente weaving, and Assemblies' disability funds now favour skills, devices and start-up capital.

• Workable tasks: folding and binding, stamping, colour mixing, weaving on a table loom, hemming, quality checking, packing, selling and social media can all be done seated.
• Adjustments: waist-height tables and basins on stands for wheelchair users; long-handled tongs and sticks; picture cards and written recipes for Deaf trainees; a buddy at the hot wax and caustic stations; tactile labels (raised dots, rubber bands) on chemical tins for people with low vision; light and sound timers.
• Safety stays the same: anyone who cannot get out of goggles, gloves or the wax area quickly works with a partner at those stations.

Check yourself: Unit 7

1. Name three things to check before you sell a scarf.
2. Why is water supply important when you choose a location?
3. What word must you never use for your own printed or batik cloth?

1. Name three items of PPE for the dye area.
2. Why is reactive dye powder handled with care?
3. What must you never use to put out a wax fire?
4. What should you do with used dye baths?
5. Why must you scour new cloth?
6. Name four tie-dye patterns.
7. What does soda ash do?
8. Explain in one sentence how a vat dye works.
9. Why is waxed cloth dyed in a cold bath?
10. How do you recover wax after dewaxing?
11. What is the warp?
12. Who may call cloth "Kente"?

Best next reads: the HSE page on dyes and dyeing; the Osei-Duro and Google Arts pages on Ghanaian batik; the hub's Garment Making, Workplace Safety and Money Skills manuals.

What this module does not cover: preparing vat baths yourself, discharge printing, screen printing, shibori stitching, large-loom weaving and registering a business (see Levels 2 and 3).

Every source used in this manual is listed, with links, in the Teacher Copy.