community of dyers

Pre-wash anything you're going to dye. Dry it or not, as you please, any method. Just don't leave the stuff lying around wet long enough that it gets mildewed, that's all. (We often add some soda ash when pre-washing, to get the fabric extra clean, but soda ash in this step will rinse right out, so it has nothing to do with the soda ash you use to set the dye.)

Try tying your dry fabric (or clothing). If you have trouble getting it to fold crisply enough, try dampening it before tying it. Some people like to keep a spray bottle of plain water nearby to moisten the fabric when they're ready to tie it.

Tie your string or rubber bands really tightly. Try not to wrap the fabric around and around itself; instead, fold it in zig-zags so that the dye can reach every layer without having to penetrate through a great many layers of fabric.

Don't soak your fabric in soda ash until after you have tied it. Some people like to tie soda-ash-soaked fabric, either before or after drying (you can line-dry after soaking in soda ash, and still have it in the fabric ready to set the dye), but it's hard on your hands to do this without gloves, and it's hard to tie anything when you have gloves on.

Don't put clothes that have been soaked in soda ash into the dryer. If you want to remove some of the liquid from freshly soda-soaked clothes, you can run it through the spin cycle of your washer, unless your washer adds rinsing water while it is spinning as mine does. Only clean, rinsed clothes should go in the dryer. If you put freshly soda-soaked items in the dryer, you will have to wipe the dryer out by hand before you use it to dry your other laundry. Also, cotton with soda ash still in it is more prone to catching on fire in the dryer; something about the high pH makes the cotton somewhat more flammable than usual. A few people have had dryer fires from machine-drying unrinsed soda-soaked fabric.

-Paula