Ice dyeing gives cotton cord baskets naturally blended color. To prep for dyeing I soak cord in water with a tablespoon of soda ash. Spread the cord on a baking or cooling rack placed over a utility sink or plastic bin. Make sure to unwrap the cord. so there is as much cord surface as rack space allows. Top the cord with as many ice cubes as you can coerce to stay. Tuck them into nooks and crannies as there is no limit to the number cubes. They are slippery little devils but keep covering as much cord as possible. PUT ON A KN95 MASK or better yet a respirator to mix dry cold water MX dye and soda ash in a 1:2 mix. I use an old salt shaker to distribute them and sprinkle on the cubed cord. Save a bit for any white cord that may need a sprinkle after the first hour of melt. Add cubes to cover those and re-sprinkle. Once the ice is melted, let the cord sit right where it is for at least 24 hours. Finally, pop the cord into water to rinse, then wash with a fabric soap, rinse out the soap, soak in a Retayne + water solution, rinse again and dry. You are ready to zig zag coil!
