how to use soda ash

[lightandbubbly]

hi everyone! i'm a newbie in this forum as well as in batik dyeing on cotton fabrics.

this is my first time in doing a batik painting and i only start with small sizes (less than 8.5 inches by 11 inches). since i don't have formal schooling on batik dyeing, i just based everything on the demo of batik painting shown to me and my husband when we had a vacation in langkawi, malaysia.

based on internet research, i learned that soda ash is needed for fixing the dye. the soda ash i've ordered online, just arrived today but i don't really know how to use them especially with the sizes of my batik projects.

i hope you guys could advise me on this. i am attaching a photo of one of my recent project. thanks a lot!

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/1595/001ct3.jpg

[pburch]

That's very pretty. What kind of dyes or paints are you using?

You do not need to use soda ash unless the dye you are using calls for it. There are many dyes that do not require soda ash at all. Soda ash is a good fixative for fiber reactive dyes (http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/fiberreactive.shtml) such as Procion MX or Remazol (http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/remazol.shtml) dyes. It has no use if you are using fabric paints in which the pigment is fixed to the fiber with an acrylic binder.

Paula