phenomenonunder review

colour splitting

Also known as: split, color splitting

Separation of a mixed dye colour into its component colours during dyeing.

Claims and evidence (5)

mixed colour (blend of dyes) causes colour splittingcontextual

Scope: Ice dyeing with Dharma fiber reactive dyes

Says that with mixed colours the melting ice causes the pure colours to split out as they are pulled through the fabric.

Limitations: 染料の販売会社自身の解説。独立した研究で確かめたものではない。公開日は頁内で確認できず。

Source: Did You Know... Fiber Reactive Dye - Pure Colors vs Mixed （Dharma Trading Co.）・"How is this useful?" 内、Ice Dyeing の段落・manufacturer statement ・ checked against the source by AI

colour splitting is attributed to differences in dye molecule size (pure colours with smaller molecules travel through the fabric faster)contextual

Scope: Ice dyeing; as explained by Dharma

Attributes splitting to varying molecule size: pure colours with smaller molecules travel faster than those with larger molecules.

Limitations: 染料の販売会社自身の解説。独立した研究で確かめたものではない。公開日は頁内で確認できず。分子の大きさや速さの数値、実験は示されていない。

Source: Did You Know... Fiber Reactive Dye - Pure Colors vs Mixed （Dharma Trading Co.）・同上・manufacturer statement ・ checked against the source by AI

colour splitting is attributed to soda ash (sodium carbonate)contextual

Scope: Ice dyeing; as explained by Dharma

Says some colours strike, or become permanent, faster in the presence of soda ash, so slower-striking colours travel more.

Limitations: 染料の販売会社自身の解説。独立した研究で確かめたものではない。公開日は頁内で確認できず。どの色が速いかは書かれていない。

Source: Did You Know... Fiber Reactive Dye - Pure Colors vs Mixed （Dharma Trading Co.）・同上・manufacturer statement ・ checked against the source by AI

colour splitting has the property of 3–4 colour mixes such as blacks, greys and browns split dramatically; ice dyeing with pure colours is much less dramaticcontextual

Scope: Ice dyeing with Dharma fiber reactive dyes

Says 3–4 colour mixes like blacks, greys and browns can split dramatically, while ice dyeing with pure colours is much less dramatic.

Limitations: 染料の販売会社自身の解説。独立した研究で確かめたものではない。公開日は頁内で確認できず。

Source: Did You Know... Fiber Reactive Dye - Pure Colors vs Mixed （Dharma Trading Co.）・同上・manufacturer statement ・ checked against the source by AI

colour splitting is attributed to States that applying dye to fabric that is very wet produces a very different effect than applying it to only slightly damp fabric, and that mixed colours especially tend to split into their component colours under wet conditions (general tie-dye, not limited to ice-dyeing); recommends mixing dyes as directed and wringing fabric out thoroughly before applying dye as countermeasures.contextual

Scope: Tie-dyeing in general, per Dharma Trading Co.'s guidance; fiber-reactive dye.

States that applying dye to sopping-wet fabric produces a very different effect than applying it to only slightly damp fabric, especially with mixed colours; on very wet fabric, many dye colours will split into their component colours, and recommends sticking to pure MX colours to avoid this entirely. To minimise colour splitting, recommends mixing the colours as directed and wringing the fabric out thoroughly before applying dye, and mentions adding thickener to reduce dye spreading on the fabric.

Limitations: 染料販売会社自身のトラブルシューティング記事で、独立した実験や測定値は示されていない。

Source: Troubleshooting Tie-dye （Dharma Trading Co., 2024）・「How Wet (or Dry) is Your Fabric?」の段落・manufacturer statement ・ checked against the source by AI

Open questions (3)

Are the way mixed colours split apart in ice-dyeing (explained via dye molecule size and differences in how fast colours strike in the presence of soda ash) and the way dyes separate in paper chromatography (explained via differences in solubility and affinity for the paper) the same mechanism, or two different phenomena?🧪 testable at home

Both explanations found in this bundle concern mixed colours splitting into components that move at different speeds, but the setting (ice-dyeing in a fabric dye bath vs. chromatography on paper) and the factors cited (dye molecule size and rate of striking with soda ash vs. solubility in the developing solvent and affinity for cellulose) differ. Testing the same dye mixture both ways might show whether the same factors are at work or two separate ones.

When two pure colours whose dye affinities differ a great deal are combined for ice-dyeing, does the split look more dramatic than when two pure colours with similar affinities are combined?🧪 testable at home

The ledger already notes that 3-4 colour mixes such as blacks, greys and browns split dramatically while pure-colour ice-dyeing is much more subdued. Read alongside this bundle's finding that industrial reactive dyes are grouped into affinity classes A, B and C (Nippon Kayaku's Kayacelon React dyes), it remains untested whether combining two pure colours with a large affinity difference produces a more dramatic split than combining two with similar affinities.

Does how wet the fabric is visibly change how much a mixed colour splits?🧪 testable at home

Dharma's troubleshooting page (claim-3485) says mixed colours split into their components more readily on very wet fabric. Comparing well-wrung and soaking-wet fabric with the same mix could test this at home (candidate for home experiment #6).

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