Traditional hand-calendering or menggerus kain is a simple but labour intensive process used to
impart a glossy or ‘watered’ finish to cloth. As a finishing process for hand
loomed textiles, it was once commonly practiced in weaving centers across the
East Coast of Peninsula Malaysia, especially in the state of Pahang. Similar
techniques are also found in Celebes, Indonesia.
The equipment used is simple: a papan gerus or calendering board (a horizontal beam with a shallow
central groove), the joran (a pliable
and moveable stake to which the cowrie shell
is attached), a large cowrie shell (siput gerus) and beeswax.
The cloth, which is to be calendered, must first be
starched prior to waxing (for the gerus
masak method), or can be rubbed directly with beeswax (the gerus mentah). The waxed cloth is then
laid across the calendering board, which had been rubbed with resin to provide better
adhesion.
The cowrie shell
is then rubbed back and forth within the grooved beam; only a small section is
calendered at a time. Calendering smoothens the wax coating, ‘compresses’ the
cloth and gives it a smooth, glossy finish.
Hand calendering of the gerus masak method is reserved for songket squares used in a tanjak,
a Malay man's headdress. The gerus mentah
technique is more versatile and can be used on various traditional textiles
or garments including those made of songket,
batik or Pahang handloom textiles. Telepuk
(gilded cloth) also relies on the availability of calendered textiles.
Unfortunately hand-calendering is now rarely practised.
Sumber : Bahagian Pemuliharaan, Kraftangan Malaysia
Artikel ini telah ditulis pada
hari Khamis
, Khamis, Februari 21, 2013
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