Experimental Tie Dye: Why Use Soda Ash? [Ice Dye]

This is an experimental ice dye. I receive a lot of questions about how important it is to use soda ash with Procion Dye. As you can see, the part of the shirt that was soaked in soda ash is much more vibrant after the final wash-out.

Note: The last part of the video is missing. After each wash cycle, the area that had soda ash remained virtually the same while the area without soda ash began to quickly fade to pastel colors.

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I use Procion Fiber Reactive Dyes from:

Links to the items I use in most of the tie dye videos:

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[FaeoreNeko]

The end result photo doesn't seem to give me a good idea of the difference. If the exact same colours were used on both sides, it might be more obvious, but green is different than purple and both halves of the shirt look very good to me.

[linaor]

😲WOW. NICE SHIRT!!! I couldn't tell if the soda ash was necessary lol

[tereselapree]

While it looks pretty good with one wash and dry, as you wear the T and wash it several times the bottom will over time continue to lose color. And continue to lighten, where the top area with soda ash added will stay the same. Even after repeated washings.

[ep]

Watched the whole video without explanation at end or much time to look at the finished product 😠 Had to read the comments to figure it out. Turned out beautifully just wish it was more explained.

[BobbyGeee]

Which side was with and which side was without? Your conclusion? Which is better

[safiyakwesi]

So why exactly is the soda ash used? You didn't explain the difference between the part soaked in soda ash and the other part.

[catsordogs_lh]

I just wanted to say that yes, the shirt was neat, but I loved the music being played while you speed up the video... Loved it! ❤️😍

[sandyevans]

I LOVE THE SHIRT YOU DID . . . IT'S VERY COLORFUL! YOU ARE SO GOOD AT USING THE DYES! THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR TALENT!

[mandamorris]

When learning to do this process I took the soda ash as a given and wouldn't be without it.... I'm glad you did this vid for non believers. Perhaps add some comparison shots after the shirt has been laundered say 5 times or more? Again you say you were unsure of the color combo, but like your other poster I too think the colors in this are amazing... Kinda makes me a tiny bit sad that the 'un-ashed' part is going to lose all that gorgeousness eventually... As ALWAYS my friend... great job...

[Rathdrgnknight]

Honestly, I think that shirt looks really good. You said in the video you didnt think it would turn out well but I think it looks amazing.

[SDSL]

It is intersting that even though you chose random coulors and you thaught it will turn out not so good, I like this wild look:))
I can see the difference in the coulors with soda ash and without. Thank you!

[lynetteb]

You didn’t point out the differences in the ash soaking compared to the dry technique of tie-dying because they look the same to me.

[robertzeiser]

Definitely soda ash first! I just ice dyed two chair covers and failed to properly prepare one of them. The untreated one released most of the dye and the results looked washed out. I’ve gotten away with filling a spray bottle with soda ash solution and spraying clothes until damp, then letting them hang for 20 minutes. But I’m going to soak and spin from now on.

[pearloftheorient]

Awesome tutorial it's so cool! How much Soda ash per tshirt and how long to soak? Can we just wash, wring and hang to dry or do we really need to spin and color it damp? Thank you. 😀👍🏽

[shakshisoni]

So what's the difference, you didn't explained

[stephanieross]

I really like the random colors. It’s a very pretty shirt.

[guang-wen]

My goodness. Watching you pour on all that dye and then rinse it out is like visual ASMR to me. Keep up the awesome work!

[sumocloud]

Wow how much dye are you using? Could have dyed hundreds of shirts with this much dye. Maybe it's cheaper in the US..

[kimpot]

The green part is without soda ash, purple has soda ash

[lindaberg]

I do ice dying as well but I have never done both sides....I soak tshirt in soda ash...pack or tie the way I want....then sprinkle a bit of soda ash on tshirt ...very little and then sprinkle on the dyes and then pack with enough ice to go all the way through ...let site for 12 to 24 hours then rinse ...