How To Make Rainbow Batik With Kids

If you’re looking for a rainy-day craft that’s messy in the best way and guaranteed to brighten your home, rainbow batik is the perfect project. This simple DIY batik technique uses supplies you already have around the house and gives your kids a chance to create artwork that looks just as vibrant as fabric you’d find in a market overseas.

Unlike traditional batik, which relies on hot wax and special dyes, this kid-friendly version is safe, easy, and completely adaptable. Whether you’re homeschooling, planning a weekend project, or just want to keep little hands busy after school, rainbow batik will bring out your child’s inner artist.

What is Batik?

Batik is an ancient fabric art technique where wax is applied to cloth in patterns or designs, then dyed to create striking, colorful effects. Once the wax is removed, the designs remain crisp and bold against the background colors.

For kids, we swap out wax and fabric for more accessible materials like glue, crayons, and washable paints. The results still mimic the bold, resist-style patterns of batik without the hazards.

When I found this project, I immediately went on a search around my home for a plain white anything I could try this with! Such a fun project to do with the family or even with a larger group of kids. All you need is some Elmer’s Gel Glue, some acrylic paint, and something to make a rainbow batik design on.

Learn how to make your own batik design using these directions and step-by-step pictures on Our Creative Day.

Variations to Try

Seasonal Batik: Try snowflakes in winter blues, flowers in spring pastels, or autumn leaves in warm oranges and browns.
Personalized Gifts: Create batik-style tote bags or pillowcases as DIY presents for grandparents.
Paper Batik: If you don’t have fabric handy, thick watercolor paper works as a substitute.

Rainbow batik is one of those rare crafts that looks impressive but is simple enough for even the youngest artists. Parents love it because it sparks creativity without needing expensive supplies, and kids love it because they can splash paint around and watch the patterns magically appear.

So next time your little ones are climbing the walls on a rainy afternoon, grab the glue, mix up some colors, and let them dive into a world of rainbow batik. Their finished masterpiece might just be fridge-worthy—or even frame-worthy.

Check out these Batik tye-dye kits we found on Amazon.

As if Diwali weren’t colorful and fun enough, The Festival of Lights: A Lift-the-flap Diwali Celebration by Namita Moolani Mehra, illustrated by Darshika Varm, makes it even more fun to read about with flaps and things to lift and pull to see more information or details in the illustrations.

The book is a story about a family getting ready for Diwali and what happens on the different days of the five-day celebration. There’s cleaning, shopping, crafting, food preparation and getting the home altar ready for the big day.

It covers decorating the outside of the house with rangoli, diyas and lanterns, buying sweets to share with family and friends, the sights and scents of the mandir (home temple), getting dressed up in new fancy clothes, the story of Diwali and celebrations with relatives.

Flaps (there are more than 140 in all) give you vocabulary words for different foods and definitions, as well as fun things like what’s inside the shopping basket or where the cat is hanging out. They also help illuminate the story of Diwali, which is the triumph of good over evil as Lord Ram defeated the demon Ravana to save his wife, Sita.

This pretty and colorful book helps kids understand what Diwali is and how it is celebrated, regardless of whether they practice it at home. This would be a nice book to keep in a classroom (it’s rated for kids ages 3-7) or to have at home to teach kids about Diwali even if it’s not something you celebrate. Where I live there are a lot of people from India so we are probably exposed to Diwali more than some other regions of America, but it’s a nice holiday to know about wherever you live.

Combine with the book Diwali and check out some fun lantern crafts and printables for kids to round out your experience.

About the book: 24 pages, hardcover, published 2025 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail prices $22.99.

What is Batik?

Variations to Try

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