| Brazilwood, logwood and fustic are famous traditional | | | | for microscopic slides. |
| natural dyes that produce bright colours on wool, | | | | Old Fustic |
| cotton and silk; brazilwood yields rich reds, logwood | | | | Old Fustic, or Dyer's Mulberry, is made from the |
| purples and fustic strong yellows. These three dyes | | | | heartwood of Maclura tinctoria, a medium to large tree |
| are made from the heartwood of medium to large | | | | of the mulberry family originally found in the forests of |
| trees originally found in tropical forests. With proper | | | | Brazil and the West Indies. It is a beautiful wood for |
| care, all three dyes have a good light-fastness. | | | | wood turning and is then known as amarillo, which |
| Eventually they mellow to paler but still pretty colours. | | | | means yellow in Spanish. |
| By late 1500's large quantities of brazilwood, logwood | | | | Fustic yields a range of colours from strong dark |
| and fustic were imported into Europe from Latin | | | | yellows to an attractive peach colour on silk, cotton |
| America. These three new dyes cost much less than | | | | and wool and it has good light-fastness. It was used |
| those previously available therefore allowing more | | | | extensively from about 1600 to 1850, as it produces a |
| people to have colourful clothes. | | | | strong colour at low cost. During the WW1, fustic was |
| Brazilwood | | | | one of the dyes used to produce khaki for army |
| Brazilwood is found both in Asia and Latin America | | | | uniforms. |
| and Brazil takes its name from the tree. The wood | | | | Dyeing with Brazilwood, Logwood and Fustic |
| comes from several species of Caesalpinia trees and | | | | These three dyes are normally sold as wood chips but |
| it gives lovely rich reds. | | | | are also available as natural dye extracts. I prefer to |
| Even though I was born and brought up in Brazil, I | | | | use brazilwood and logwood as wood chips, as I |
| never saw a brazilwood tree, never read about the | | | | seem to get a better colour this way. However, I find |
| fiery reds it produces and was never taught that the | | | | the fustic extract better than the wood chips. |
| word Brazil comes from the Spanish brasa which | | | | To obtain strong colours, put 50g of wood chips in a |
| means glowing embers. It was only when I came to | | | | saucepan, cover with boiling water and then leave |
| live in England and became interested in natural dyes | | | | them overnight. The following day, boil the chips in the |
| that I learned more about this tree. I was very | | | | water for about an hour. You must remove the wood |
| surprised to learn that my country of birth was named | | | | chips before adding the fibre as they have small barbs |
| after the wood found there, rather than the other way | | | | that attach themselves to the fibre and would have to |
| round. | | | | be carefully picked off one by one. The best way to |
| Brazilwood, however, was well-known for centuries, | | | | remove the chips is to leave the dye bath to cool |
| long before Brazil was discovered by Europeans; it | | | | down for an hour or two and then pour the contents |
| was first mentioned as a dye in 1321, sourced from | | | | of the saucepan through a sieve, saving the liquid. You |
| East Indies and India. | | | | can also save the chips by spreading them out to dry, |
| Most of brazilwood sold as a dye now comes from | | | | as they can be re-used several times. Add 100g of |
| Asian trees. The species from Brazil, Caesalpinia | | | | wool mordanted with alum to the dye bath and |
| echinata, is also known as pernambuco and is | | | | simmer for 30 minutes. Take the wool out and add |
| sometimes referred to as the music tree because its | | | | another 50g of wool for paler colours. You might still |
| wood is used for making violin bows. | | | | get some colour on a further 50g of wool. |
| Logwood | | | | A pinch of iron mordant changes the final colour; |
| Logwood dye is made from the heartwood of | | | | brazilwood becomes darker and purpler, logwood |
| Haematoxylon campecianum, a forest tree from | | | | goes greyer and fustic greener. A strong dye bath of |
| Central America. Haematoxylon literally means blood | | | | logwood and fustic together with a pinch of iron will |
| wood and it refers to the colour of the heartwood, | | | | produce a black with great depth of colour, whilst |
| while campecianum refers to the city of Campeche in | | | | brazilwood and fustic produce a fantastic orange. |
| the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico where this tree was | | | | Advantages of Wood Dyes |
| abundant. Logwood was floated down rivers as large | | | | Brazilwood, logwood and fustic are great dyes for |
| logs, hence its name. | | | | beginners, as they are both easy to use and very |
| Logwood chips produce purples, greys and blacks, the | | | | economical. If you want vibrant tropical colours that |
| colours depending on the mordants used and the | | | | conjure the spirit of Brazil and the Caribbean, then |
| acidity of the dye bath. The dye haematoxylin | | | | tropical wood dyes are the ones to use. |
| produced from logwood is still used as histological stain | | | | |