Kids Art: Paste Batik Tide Pool Flag

Tide pool was a favorite subject last year, especially with the kids. This year, we revisited it over summer, just briefly, going a bit more in-depth, which resulted in a hand-made book with Og.

Inspired by this, Ana wanted to do something tide pool related. And, at the same time, she was itching to do a paste batik project. And that's how this Paste Batik Tide Pool Flag project was born.

I helped with the flour paste - to check for right consistency, and showed her how to do the blanket stitch, That's about it. She worked at her own pace, over 3 weekends, doing as much as she wanted to, asking for my supervision or assistance on and off.

But for the sea weed which got away from her a bit, the rest turned out all right. The blanket stitch needed a more practised hand, I'm sure, but that was just for the principle of the thing. Raw edges aren't going to unravel the fabric in this project.


Paste batik technique is the same as always:

1. Start with unbleached muslin fabric, cut into required size. We went with an approximate 8" square.
2. Figure out what to draw: Ana chose 6 tide pool staples - crab, sea star, sea anemone, sea urchin, sea weed and mussels. 
3. Draw the creatures, one per square piece of pre-cut fabric.
4. Make the flour paste and fill it in a ketchup/mustard dispenser. 
5. Apply the paste on the drawing, figuring out what parts will be masked. Allow to dry completely.
6. Paint with bright, bold colors. We use acrylic paints. Allow to dry completely.
7. Remove the dried paste, chipping it off the fabric carefully.
8. Wash the fabric. Allow to dry completely.
9. Iron out the wrinkles.
10. Finish the raw edges if preferred.
11. Finger-knitting being the rage with the 8 yo again this summer, the string to hang the flags from was finger-knitted with blue yarn.
12. Attach the flags to the yarn rope. It's ready to brighten any space!