Logwood & Weld (Solar + Exhausts 2 & 3)

 At the end of Dye Project: Logwood Exhaust 2 (Alum + Iron), I had a gallon of Exhaust 3 dye left, but thought I wouldn't keep it since there seemed to be so little pigment left. At the last minute though, I decided to combine the Logwood Exhaust 3 dye with some leftover Weld Exhaust 2 dye, and see what happens (sort of the dyer's equivalent of a Hail Mary pass). It's a desperation move that probably won't yield anything, but with nothing to lose, why not? The dye and prepared dish towel are already on hand, so go for it. This follow-up post reports on the results!

Logwood Exhaust 3: instead of tossing, try an experiment

Weld Exhaust 2: add to the logwood

I decided to overdye a dish towel that had previously been dyed with cherry, and I also decided to solar dye with the combined dyes, instead of the customary process of simmering over heat for an hour. Research indicated that the combination of logwood and weld could yield a greenish color. 

To my large canning jar I added a teaspoon of alum and stirred to mix. Then I added the two dyes and stirred to combine. Finally I added the prepared dish towel, and sealed the lid.

Combined logwood and weld dye bath with alum

I put the jar out on the patio, and left it in the sun for four weeks, agitating the jar daily to distribute the dye evenly. Interestingly, by week 2, no evidence of purple remained. By week 4 the dish towel seemed to be a pink and yellow color. (The overall appearance of the jar reminded us of a specimen preserved in formaldehyde in a zoology lab).

By week two, the purple was gone

By week four, the dish towel looked pinkish yellow 

After four weeks I treated the fabric as usual: rinsing until the water ran clear; hanging to dry; washing with a pH neutral soap after two weeks; and then hanging to dry again.

The dye bath appears brown, inside the house and out of sunlight

Rinsed and squeezed

The resulting color doesn't photograph well, but in certain light the fabric has a pinkish yellow "glow" to it. It definitely did not yield a green shade, but there are multiple variables that could have prevented that, including the age and strength of the exhaust dyes, and using solar dyeing instead of the simmering process.

Logwood Exhaust 3 + Weld Exhaust 2: solar and alum mordant brightener

Color Comparison

For fun, look at the range of shades produced using logwood dye, with simmering and solar techniques, over multiple exhausts, and with alum and iron as mordant brighteners!

Logwood: shades of color produced