Dye Prep

Before you begin working with fabric, it's important to understand the materials and process involved.

First, you need the right fabric for the project. If you're printing, stamping or painting, any 100% cellulosic fabric will work. If you're dyeing, you need white Dyer's cloth or muslin because there is no sizing or other chemicals that detergent can't remove. Any fabric you choose has to be washed and treated regardless of what you plan to do with it.

Washing Soda is Sodium Carbonate or the Sodium Salt of Carbonic Acid, aka soda ash or lye. It is a water softener that easily dissolves in water and raises the pH. A water softener competes with the magnesium and calcium ions in hard water and prevents them from bonding with the detergent being used.

Borax is a pH buffering agent. It maintains the pH of a solution by preventing a rapid change in pH when an acidic or alkaline chemical is added to a solution.

Synthrapol or textile detergent is sodium lauryl sulfate, a simple surfactant. Dyers use it as a pre-wash to remove sizing, oils, fingerprints and other impurities that would interfere with an even dyeing of fabric — and then, they wash the dyed fabric to remove any remaining unattached dye. It suspends the dye particles so they do not re-attach to fabric.

Pure liquid coconut castile soap is a good all purpose non-detergent soap. The ingredients are: coconut oil, water and lye (potassium hydroxide). Get it from Making Cosmetics.

Procedure

Do not use metal with these chemicals! Washing soda is alkaline; it will strip your skin. Wear gloves!

Materials:

Rubber gloves
3-5 Gallon bucket
Textile Detergent
Washing Soda

Hot water (140 degrees)

Fat quarter to 1 yard of fabric

Fabric Wash

For 1/2 yard of fabric:

1/2 Tbsp. Textile detergent
1/4 cup Borax
1-1/2 Gallons hot water

For 1 yard of fabric:

1 Tbsp Textile detergent

1/2 cup Borax

3 Gallons of hot water

Add borax and textile detergent to bucket of hot water and stir. Swish fabric around for 5 minutes. Wait until the fabric floats. Rinse with cool water and squeeze out excess.

Continue on to the dye process while fabric is wet.