Soda Ash Soak Dyeing
If you love the uneven patterns and textures that can be created by modern hand fabric dyeing techniques, then you will like the soda ash soak method. You can create wonderful color gradations and textures by folding, scrunching, twisting, tying and otherwise manipulating the fabrics during the dyeing process. There are several variations of the basic method that different artists have developed to suit their personal philosophies and artistic needs. Once you learn the basics, then you can experiment to discover different variations which are just right for you.
Basic soda ash soak method: refer to immersion dyeing in a vat for the basic equipment and supplies.
- Prewash the fabric to be dyed using a mild detergent such as Synthrapol to remove any grease and dirt and an enzyme detergent to remove any sizing.
- Soak the fabric in a solution of 1 cup of washing soda per 1 gallon of water. You can re-use this solution indefinitely if it is kept refrigerated.
- While the fabric is in the soda ash bath, mix some chemical water by adding ½ cup of dried urea and 1 teaspoon of water softener or soda ash per quart of water. This chemical water is used to dissolve the dye powder. To make larger quantities, simply use the same ratios and increase the amounts accordingly - ie. for 1 gallon of water, use 2 cups of urea and 4 teaspoons of water softener or soda ash.
- Mix the dye powder into the chemical water. If you are using salt, add it now. For a medium color you can start with 1 teaspoon of dye powder in ½ cup of chemical water. Again, you can make larger amounts by keeping the ratios the same. Some colors require more dye powder to make the same intensity of color. Also, "medium" is a subjective or judgment term - medium to me may be garish or wishy-washy to someone else. So experiment to find colors and intensities that suit you.
- Apply the dyes using any of the methods described below.
- Once you have applied the dye, the curing process begins. This the when the dye molecules bond to the fabric. It must be done wet and lasts from 24 to 48 hours although leaving it in the dye bath for a week or two will not damage the fabric. There are several techniques to use for the curing process and they will be described below in more detail.
- When the dye is set, wash the fabric in hot or warm water and Synthrapol (3 tablespoons for a small washing machine load). Wash different colors separately to avoid any possibility of bleeding of colors. Run the rinse cycle at least twice or until the water stays clear.
Applying the Dye
It is important to make a chart of the amounts of dye used to make each dye stock solution and the texturizing method used to create each piece of fabric that you dye. That way, if you ever want to recreate the fabric, you have a place to start. Since dyeing has elements of both art and science, there is no guarantee that you will have something exactly the same, but you might luck out. I attached a small sample of each fabric I dyed to the chart beside the amount notation and put it safely away. And maybe some day I will remember where that "safe place" in the universe is.
This is the fun part where you can create myriad textures and color variations! Ellen Anne Eddy, in her book Thread Magic, says she mixes a palette of 15 to 20 colors (in separate containers) and sponges them onto the wet fabric so that they will flow and blend. Then roll in plastic wrap, if you wish the colors to stay much like they were applied, or fold, scrunch, or twist the fabric if you wish to create more texture and put it in a plastic bag to cure.
The StoneyRidge Pickled Fabric Kit is a neat way to make a fat quarter 24-step color wheel. In 24 half-pint canning jars, add mixed dye stock and
salt. Manipulate your fat quarters in one of the above ways and put one in each jar with the dye, put the lid on and leave it to cure. Makes clean-up very easy. I used the StoneyRidge method on the fabric swatches that are shown on the web site. For kits e-mail StoneyRidgeRags@earthlink.net
Jane Dunnewold has developed another technique. In her book, Complex Cloth: A Comprehensive Guide to Surface Design, she says she developed this technique because of portability issues for her students and out of her concerns for the environment. Rather than wrapping the cloth in plastic to cure, she puts the dye stock and fabric directly into a plastic bag, seals it and leaves it to cure for 24 to 48 hours. The exception being if she is looking for a particular hue: then she removes the fabric when it looks slightly darker than the color she wants (the fabric will be lighter when it dries) and puts it in an empty bag to cure. Jane also describes several more interesting ways to create texture such as pole wrap and scrunch, stitched resist, tying circles and clamping.
References for this section are:
Hand-Dyed Fabric Made Easy by Adriene Buffington
Complex Cloth: A Comprehensive Guide to Surface Design
by Jane Dunnewold
Pickled Fabric Workshop by StoneyRidgeRags
e-mail StoneyRidgeRags@earthlink.net
Click here for a complete list of references with publishers' addresses and contact information.