Message: Hi i read your articles on tie dying and batiking. I tried batiking on a hirt with 60-40 parafin to beeswax mix, and a cold water die. After letting it sit for 3 hours i rinsed all the die out of the fabric. i then boiled it in a pot of water with dish soap. i also tied liquid hand soap. The first soap didnt work at all and the second soap worked better but there is still alot of residue on the fabric. When i boiled it the wax that came to the top was white and flaky and very crumbly. Also u said to keep the fabric in the pot and let it cool with the wax on the surface but how do u keep the fabric not floating. It seemed to me that as soon as the pot started to cool the white wax formed and stuck to any fabric that was near the top. I was wondering if u could tell me if i am doing anything wrong or how i could do this and recieve better results. If u could take the time to answer this as soon as possible i would be very grateful and appreciative.

I use a rack or something to weigh down the fabric under the surface of the water. Don't use anything that will rust, as I did once! The rust stained the fabric. A glass measuring cup has also worked for me.

Results seem to be much better if you use a true *soap*, instead of a detergent. Both your hand "soap" and your dish soap were detergents. True soap works much better for this purpose. I have had the best success with Dr. Bronner's liquid castile soap, from the local whole foods store.

Detergent has nice properties for other purposes - notably the lack of soap scum after cleaning with it - but, in my experience, it is not ideal for assisting in removing wax.