Name: Jackie
Message: Hi! I learned batik in Indonesia this year and hope to continue here at home. A few questions. The teacher used caustic soda in her dyeing, but I would like to use what we have here. What is sodium carbonate?  where would I get soda ash? In removing the wax after the dyeing proces, the teacher used tapioca powder in the boiling water to make it easier to remove. Is Rit okay to use for dyeing? Thanks for any help you can give me. HappyNew Year!  jackie fmm

Last question first: no, it is not okay to use Rit or any other brand of all-purpose dye in batiking. Any wax you use will be melted long before all-purpose dye can set. All-purpose dye is a hot water dye. It will not attach well to fabric if applied much below 190 degrees F. (88 C); to get bright or intense colors, with all-purpose dye, you should simmer at or above this temperature for thirty minutes or more. 

You must use a cool water dye when you do batik, to keep the wax from melting prematurely. In North America and Europe, we use fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye. In Indonesia, fiber reactive dye may be used, but it is also common to use naphthol dyes, which are considered too dangerous for home use here, due to concerns about carcinogenicity. Vat dyes such as indigo are cool water dyes and can also be used, but the method is more difficult; I recommend vat dyes only for very experienced dyers. You may find it difficult or impossible to find fiber reactive dye locally; if so, you can mail-order it from the companies which are listed on my website under 'Sources for Dyeing Supplies'.

Caustic soda is sodium hydroxide, or lye. It is used with vat dyes as well as naphthol dyes. Although it is commonly used in all chemistry laboratories, it is quite dangerous for those not experienced in working with caustic chemicals. It can be used to adjust the pH of the dyebath when working with fiber reactive dyes, but soda ash is safer to use and much more forgiving of errors, since the pH will be close to correct even if you use half as much as you should, or twice as much. If you use even a slightly wrong amount of caustic soda with fiber reactive dyes, your pH will be wrong, so the dye will not work as efficiently. Soda ash is the common name for anhydrous sodium carbonate, readily available as a pH increaser wherever swimming pool supplies are sold. The same chemical is found in washing soda, but with more water in the formula, so you must use three times as much of the dry washing soda powder as you would use of dry soda ash.

It's interesting that your teacher used tapioca powder when removing the wax. I have tried only detergent and soap to assist in this process (and found soap to work better than detergent). It is possible to boil out wax without using any additive, and in fact wax can be reused for batiking if boiled out only in plain water, but the additive can make a great difference in how much trouble it is to boil out the wax. Natural beeswax may be easier to boil out than less expensive synthetic substitutes, since its melting point is lower. I've always used a synthetic microcrystalline wax/paraffin blend in batiking, myself, but have resolved to use beeswax instead of microcrystalline wax in the future.

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