1) What is Logwood? Logwood (Haematoxylon campecianum) is a tree originally found in the forests of Central America. The dye comes from the heartwood.
2) What colours does Logwood extract produce? Logwood extract produces violets and purples. Over dye with persian berry (or fustic) and iron for blacks and see also blacks with logwood extract.
Make a paste with 1 teaspoon (5 grams) logwood extract and a small amount of warm water. Fill a saucepan with water and add the logwood extract paste.
Add the pre-wetted mordanted fibre. Bring the dye bath to a gentle simmer and then keep at that temperature for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring gently from time to time. Leave overnight to cool.
When dyeing with logwood it may help to mordant wool using 22 grams of alum per 100 grams of wool instead of the usual 8 grams of alum per 100 grams of wool.
4) How much wool does Logwood extract dye?
BFL wool dyed with iron and logwood
Logwood extract is very strong and you only need 5 grams to dye two 100 gram hanks of Blue-faced Leicester superwash wool to a dark purple and a violet, respectively, depending on water quality and other factors (see photo). We suggest you experiment as dye colours will vary with the type of fibre, the mordant and the quality of water.
It is best to start with only 2 grams of logwood extract per 100g of mordanted wool. If you want a darker shade, then you need to mordant the wool again and make a second dye bath with another 2 grams of extract. Dyeing twice is recommended instead of using a more concentrated bath.
5) What is Logwood extract? Our Logwood extract is shipped as a dark purple crystalline powder that is very stable and of high colour fastness. It is produced using processes that respect the environment and comply with organic textile certifications. Our Logwood dye extract is an approved dyestuff for the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS 4.0) and is of consistent high quality through certified cultivation of a pure plant (Europam: the European certification for medicinal herbs) and a high level of process control during production.
6) Blacks with Logwood extract It is easy to get black on raffia with logwood extract and persian berry extract. Mordant with alum and then dye with logwood extract, persian berry extract & iron.
Learn more about dyeing with natural dye extracts: