I did get the water boiling and it did seem like the soda didn't disolve like it should. I have been going back and weighing the ingredients and found that I should have used 1 1/4 cup of water instead of 1 cup. I think the alum shoud have been more too. I have to get more alum and see if that is the case. The soda ash was the right amount and I didn't have fabric softener but found a posting on the net that said that didn't change the results.I found something on the net about using vinegar instead of soda ash. I haven't seen the prepared for dyeing fabric other than the sheets you can buy. The fabric in those seem rougher than I want. I am going to experiment with the recipe. It dyed just as good as the bubble jet set except where the powder built up.
Thanks for your input!!
Lynda