Salt Plus Soda Ash?

[bluetops]

On the G&S Dye-Procian MX Dye Site, the section for direct applic tie-dyeing says to dissolve 5Tbsp Sodium Carbonate (ash) & 2 cups salt in 4lt hot water to presoak fabric prior to dyeing. I am a beginner dyer and luv Paula Burch's info site which says 1 cup soda ash to 4 litres,no salt,so am confused. I realize salt is used for immersion dying etc but I am only at the tye-dyeing stage with cottons with Procion MX so will the initial adding of salt plus ash give xtra benefits

[tiedyejudy]

I only use salt for vat dyeing,  LWI dyeing.  I used to put glaubers salt in my Turquoise for direct application dyeing, but then discovered I had mis-read the Dharma instructions.  Paula can tell you all the chemical whys and hows of adding salt; I do not think it is necessary for direct application, and have been doing without it for almost 10 years now, so take that for what it's worth...


Judy

[bluetops]

Thanks for reply-so didn't add salt with soda ash presoak today & patiently wait'g for results. Is it just me? Oh so carefully studied dye info for hrs, followed all instructions known to man on internet, mixed & squirted dyes perfectly -to SMUDGE it all up when bagging. So- used gladwrap before bagging today and used 20ml syringes for mixing multiple shades (last time had enough left over dye to dye every white singlet in Australia (home to me.) Been only dying for ten hrs to your ten yrs so I appreciate your time

[tiedyejudy]

Is it just me? Oh so carefully studied dye info for hrs, followed all instructions known to man on internet, mixed & squirted dyes perfectly -to SMUDGE it all up when bagging. So- used gladwrap before bagging today and used 20ml syringes for mixing multiple shades (last time had enough left over dye to dye every white singlet in Australia (home to me.) Been only dying for ten hrs to your ten yrs so I appreciate your time

One thing to keep in mind... first and foremost, we do this for the fun of it!  Experimenting is half the fun... unwrapping and seeing the final results is the other half, kind of like opening a gift, not knowing what's inside.  Down to the nuts and bolts, I use plastic wrap for my tied items, but leave LWI items to batch in the container I dye them in.  Once the soda ash has set the dye (I usually leave for about an hour), then I rinse and wash with Synthrapol... no need to bag or wrap.  For mixing, I have taken to using pasta sauce jars - they have liquid measurement markings on the side up to 1 1/2 cups, so it's a cinch to make smaller amounts.  Hope that helps!

Judy

[bluetops]

FUN??? We've never laughed so much as when i proudly undid my parcels - my 1st & so far only- mandella (looks like a dart board which my hubby proudly wears), heart (looks like a bleeding balloon), accordian shirt (need sunglasses to wear it),and my stemmed shamrock (was nearly great but somehow it ended up-side-down on the shirt so i call it 3 hearts on a string!) Thought I'd buy a good sized shallow plastic storage container with lid to chuck my parcels in to set, so would that save the need for plastic wrap or bags(better for the enviro too)-will that work? Plus am i the only ones who's talking on this site, hope that is not bad.

[tiedyejudy]

Glad to hear you're laughing!  As for the plastic bin, I would be a little careful there, only because the dyes could tend to puddle and muddy up the area of the tied items touching the base.  Add a rack to keep them off the bottom, and you may be okay!  The idea is to keep them moist for the batch period, which is why we use plastic wrap so much.  And let me clarify, what I said in my prior post pertains to Low Water Immersion dyeing, not tie-dyeing (direct application dyeing).  With tie-dye, the soda ash goes on first, then the dye in most cases.  With LWI, the soda ash goes on after the dye.  Confused yet?  Sorry!

Judy

[bluetops]

thanks for the great tips - didn't add salt - colours still came out beautiful. Great idea for the racks -will do that too. Not confused anymore (until next time) - many thanks for your time much appreciated from Bluetops in Australia !!