About silk

A brief history

The art of silk culture began in China. Legend has it that about 4500 years ago the Chinese Empress Xi Ling Chi was in her garden when her eye was caught by a worm spinning a gossamer web to protect itself. "How lovely it must feel to cocoon oneself in thread like that," she mused. The idea of this thin fibre was so appealing that she and her ladies-in-waiting set about examining a cocoon, succeeded in unravelling the thread and used it to weave fabric. For her discovery the Empress was immortalised as a goddess, and silk growers still pray to her for a rich harvest. Other major silk-producing countries, apart from China, are Thailand, Korea, India and Japan. Silk fabric is also woven in Italy and France.

What is silk?

Silk is the fibre of insect larvae or silk worms living in mulberry trees. The larva weaves itself a cocoon to protect it while it is transforming into a moth. This cocoon consists of a single strand of fibre 2000-4000 metres long.

From cocoon to thread

The cocoons are gathered and placed in hot air, steam or a very cold temperature in order to kill the worm. The thread can then be unwound. The cocoons are placed in hot water to soften the sericin or glue holding them together. The dirty surface layer is then brushed off to reveal the end of the thread. The cocoons are then transferred to a second vat, where the threads of 4-12 cocoons are twisted together, depending on the thickness required. One cocoon produces 1-3 kilometres of silk thread.

Types of fabric

Silk can be used to weave many different kinds of fabric. Terms such as 'twill' and 'satin' thus tell us how the fabric was woven. The following are some of the most common types.

TWILL
A shiny silk fabric woven so as to produce a pattern of diagonal parallel ribs.

SATIN
A smooth fabric with a glossy face and a dull back.

CDC (Crepe de Chine)
A smooth fabric with a dull glow.

CHIFFON
A dull, transparent fabric of twisted threads.

JACQUARD
A fabric with an intricate pattern of alternating glossy and dull weaves. In woven ties, for example, the pattern is woven with dyed thread.

Source: International Silk Association I.S.A.
www.silkki.com