| Base cloth | sha gauze (mulberry silk) base |
|---|---|
| Finish | yam juice + river mud process |
| Width | 106 cm width |
| Weight | 16 mm weight |
| Cutting | 1 m cut min |
Definition
Sha is the open-weave branch of gambiered silk: a mulberry gauze whose interlacing stays visible after dyeing, so light and air pass through the cloth. Colour comes from repeated yam-tuber soaks and a coat of Pearl River Delta mud, not from a dye bath.
The open structure is why sha reads as sheer rather than shiny: it is the branch buyers choose for summer uppers, linings that must breathe, and layered pieces.
What the metre cut is for
Sampling and small runs. A designer checking hand-feel and drape under their own lighting needs two or three metres, not a bolt, and a made-to-order label testing one style rarely needs more than ten.
Where colour variation comes from
Sun and mud. Each soak is dried outdoors, and a batch that meets rain mid-dry comes out lighter than its neighbour; mud from a different bend of the river reads more red. Two lots of the same article number can therefore differ, which is a property of the process rather than a defect.
All figures on this page are illustrative sample values, not measured specifications.
Is this the same as printed mulberry silk?
No. Printed mulberry silk carries pigment or dye on the surface in a pattern; this cloth is impregnated with plant tannin and then reacted with iron-rich mud, so the colour sits through the thickness of the yarn and the back stays a different shade.
How should a factory cut it?
Walk the pieces in one direction and keep the mud face consistent across a garment. The two faces are deliberately different, so mixing them inside one style reads as an error; mark the face before laying.