Myrobalan Extract

Description

Myrobalan (Terminalia chebula) is a common dye throughout India. It grows primarily in the foothills of the Himalayas. It is an upright tree with small oval leaves and lovely bright yellow flowers.

We often employ it as a mordant prior to creating brown and black on cotton fabrics. Use a higher percentage of myrobalan to yield a brownish yellow. Use a lower percentage to yield a light buff color. Myrobalan extract overdyed with indigo makes a beautiful teal color.

50g of myrobalan extract will dye approximately 500g (1.1 pounds) of fiber to a dark yellow shade. For more details on how to use myrobalan, please visit our page on natural dye extracts.

From our Feedback Friday series:

I have a myrobalan question for you…
I am currently dyeing with myrobalan + an iron after bath and I am trying to figure out the refresh amount that will produce a similar green to the first bath. We have tried 50% and 75% refreshes but the yellow-ness of the myrobalan seems to be lacking, making the green a bit too gray. Do you have any idea as to why that is? I am going to try a 90% refresh today but it’s not that the color isn’t dark enough – it’s that it is more muted/tan that produces a more gray/green after it’s dipped in iron. I have also tried lower the iron amount and it has not helped.

It sounds as if the yellow component of myrobalan is being consumed in the first bath, which is why you are getting a green with iron, and the tannins that remain from the first bath are overriding any additional myrobalan that you are adding. Recharging isn’t going to give you the results that you want and you will need to create a new dye bath. The other option is rather risky and that is to add a different clear yellow, but you may not be able to control the results to your satisfaction.