Overheard a fabric store clerk explaining why linen takes dye differently and it clicked

I was at Joann Fabrics last Saturday grabbing some cotton for a project, and I overheard a clerk telling a customer that linen and cotton are basically cousins but linen is way more stubborn about accepting dye because of the flax fibers. She said you gotta pretreat with a soda ash soak or the color just fades after a few washes. I tried it on a linen dress I was working on, and the difference was night and day. Has anyone else had a random tip from a store employee change how you approach a fabric?

2 comments

2 Comments

angela_kelly10d agoMost Upvoted

Does soda ash work for all natural fibers, or is it just a linen thing? I've been using vinegar for cotton and silk with okay results, but never tried anything stronger. Might have to grab some soda ash and see if it helps my hand-dyed dish towels hold up better.

aaron_gonzalez10d ago

84% of my cotton tees dye way deeper after I hit them with soda ash first @angela_kelly. White vinegar is fine for protein fibers like silk but soda ash really opens up plant based stuff like cotton and linen. It'll lock the color into those dish towels way better than vinegar ever did.