Jar with brown sticker labeled "Gambir: Uncaria gambir"

Fiber swatch showing dark red-brown wool twill.

Fiber swatch showing dark brown wool twill.

Fiber swatch showing dark red-brown silk satin.

Fiber swatch showing dark brown silk satin.

Fiber swatch showing pale red handloom cotton.

Fiber swatch showing pale brown handloom cotton.

Fiber swatch showing red-brown eri silk.

Fiber swatch showing pale red-brown tshirt cotton.

Gambir Extract

from $9.99

Shepherd Textiles Gambir Extract Natural Dye is made from the leaves and branches of uncaria gambir, a shrubby evergreen native to Malaysia and the Indonesian islands. The tree is especially rich in dark catechu tannins, and when the leaves are steamed they release a thick paste that is collected and concentrated down to Gambir Extract. It is dried into hard, thumb-size pieces - please note that it will arrive as mix of hard chunks and smaller sand-size pieces, rather than as a fine powder. However, the chunks will dissolve in warm water.

Gambir gives fantastic mahogany brown shades with a copper mordant and dark gray-browns with iron - use at 20% weight-of-fabric (WOF) for dark colors and 5-10% for lighter browns. Unlike many other natural dyes, it is dyed by the “stuffing and saddening” method (also known as “post-mordanting). Build a dyebath with 20% WOF of Gambir Extract, simmer the unmordanted fibers for an hour, allow to cool, and then transfer to a separate mordanting bath and simmer for another 20 minutes. Use 4% copper for mahogany, or 4% iron for gray-brown. For more details, check out our Guide to Dyeing with Gambir Extract.

Product of Indonesia.

Size: