LOGWOOD ~ Available Cut or ground and as extract*
(Bois de Campeche, Campeachy Wood)
*Collected in the Wild (foraged) in Haiti
Logwood is a natural dye wood from Central America, used for producing blues and purples on wool, black on cotton and wool, and black and violet on silk.
Logwood is PH sensitive.
It is called by old dyers one of the Lesser Dyes because the colour was said to lose all its brightness when exposed to the air.
Colour fastness: poor
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Basic Recipe:
65g bark, soaked in water for 2 days.
100g mordanted yarn/fibre (Alum 10g)
Bring pot with dye to simmer For 2h.
Strain through cloth, add yarn/fibre and dye bag to dye bath for 1h.
Rinse.
The logwood chips should be put in a bag and boiled for 20 minutes to 1/2 an hour, just before using or soak overnight, bring to the boil in the morning for 1h, strain and bind into bag.
* When using extract you only need to use 5-10% of the weight of your dry fabric. Logwood is one of the more excessive dyes - a little goes a long way - especially when using extract.