Those Splits Though!

Most people know that purple is made up of blues and reds. When you hear talk of "splits" in tie dyeing, what is being referred to is the colors that are combined in order to make a secondary or more complex color. Why do splits matter in tie dyeing? Well, splits show themselves in a couple of ways. When using liquid dye, sometimes the edges can split into a different color. For example, you may apply a Viridian color and notice that the edges bleed turquoise or that there is a turquoise "halo" around your application of Viridian. The same thing will happen with purples- your edges will usually bleed a turquoise "halo" around the purple. Now, the place where splits REALLY matter is in ice dyeing. Ice dyeing allows the dramatic separation of colors through the melting process of the ice. Using only a purple powdered dye in an ice dyeing process will yield a shirt with purples, reds, pinks, blues and anything in between. This is why ice dyeing is such a magical process!

You can see in the photo above that every color of the rainbow has split out of just a small spill of powdered dye in my bathroom sink. The sink was slightly wet and so the colors began running instantly creating a kaleidoscope of splits! Why are there so many colors splitting out of that spill? Well, black is made up of all the colors and black powdered dye is what I spilled in the sink! Neat huh?! Splits are the best!

On a side note- I really can't emphasize safety enough. The spill you see in the sink was just a smidge of dye and had the sink not been wet- I probably wouldn't have been able to see how drastic the spill really was. These tiny particles float everywhere! Remember to wear your PPE when working with powder dyes!