Malay batiks

I love visiting fabric stores wherever I go, and my most recent trip started in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Admittedly, I didn't do as much research as I should have on where to go to buy fabric because sometimes I forget quilt stores aren't as easy as Google like they are in the US.

I visited the Central Market in KL, which is full of vendors from all over. 

It's a massive market that I actually find more interesting than Istanbul's Grand Bazaar because people of all nationalities get together and sell their goods.

Admittedly, it's expensive compared to individual stores in KL, but still cheap for western travelers the experience alone was worth it.

There are rows of Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Malaysian, and even Western goods that leave you certain to find something for everyone! I could have spent all my money and my time there, but seeing as we had 2 other countries (that also had fabric!) to see, I took a more conservative route.

The clothing here is why I thought I wasn't going to find fabric...

I initially walked past this store, as everyone seemed to think "batik" meant clothes already made. I assumed those lovely fabrics hanging were sarongs, but when I visited the shop next door it turned out the lady owned both. 

When I mentioned I was looking for fabric because I'm a quilter, she got very excited and took me next door to Noor Arfa.  I realized then that this store has very little clothing and a lot of fabric!

And then I saw this row right behind that clothing!

All the beautiful batiks!

Admittedly, I only bought a bag of assorted batiks around mini-charm or charm square size because these batiks came from Indonesia, a later stop. But I still loved chatting with her and talking about how they make their quilts there.

 After our conversation and my purchase she showed me the above and below curtains they made - much more detailed than I would get with curtains - that they made from scraps from batik clothing. 

The clothing on the right above is an example of traditional Malaysian clothing and surprisingly enough, wearing batiks is a status symbol there! The more fine, elaborate batiks you wear the higher your status in Malay culture. 

But personally, I'm still looking at those beautiful curtains!

Next post will cover my trip to a batik boutique where they paint and sell boutiques! I'll cover the process they use to make batiks and show you the lovely batiks I just had to bring home.