SILK FABRIC INFORMATION

SILK FABRIC INFORMATION

Silk fabric is widely regarded as the most
luxurious textile on the planet. Its tumultuous
history, rife with wars, secrecy, and centuries of
trade, bears little resemblance to the fabric's
current reputation for being the epitome of high
fashion.
The most abundant form of silk, a natural protein
fiber, is cultivated from the cocoon of mulberry
silkworm larvae. Silkworms lay eggs on special
paper and eat only fresh mulberry leaves. Thirty-
five days after hatching, the silkworms begin
spinning their cocoons. Each cocoon yields 1,000
yards of raw silk thread, which is then spun to
produce a “yarn” of silk. The process is time-
consuming and delicate, which explains the high
cost of silk. The fiber gets its brilliant shimmer
from its structure, a triangular prism that reflects
light at varying angles. Another variant of silk,
“wild silk”, is produced by caterpillars other than
the mulberry silkworm, and can be harvested in
captivity much like traditional silk. The color and
texture of wild silk tends to differ from the
cultivated variety, and the fibers are typically
shorter, due to damage by the emerging moth. To
preserve the long, silken strands of fiber in
cultivated cocoons, the larvae inside is typically
pierced with a needle, and the cocoon is unraveled
without damage.
Silk's textile origins date back to 6000 BC, when
the wife of the Yellow Emperor, Xi Ling-Shi, went
for a walk among damaged mulberry trees and
noticed glistening threads attached to worms
eating the plant's leaves. Historians disagree
about how long it took before Xi Ling-Shi realized
the silkworms cocoons could be harvested into
silk, but one version recounts the Empress
dropping a cocoon into her tea and watching it
unravel into silken threads. China maintained a
monopoly on silk trade for thousands of years and
orchestrated an intricate and famous trade
system eventually extending as far west as
Europe and Africa, which was known as the Silk
Road. High-quality silk was also produced in
Thailand, India and eventually Western Europe,
but the material wasn't introduced to America
until the 17th century; early settlers simply could
not afford the expensive cloth. Synthetics were
later developed as a substitute for the luxurious
feel of silk fabric, but they dyed poorly and lacked
the shimmering quality of silk's light-refracting
prisms.
Today, silk fabrics are prevalent in every country:
from Indian saris to French couture gowns, it has
pervaded all cultures. Its low conductivity keeps
one warm in the winter, while its great
absorbency wicks moisture away during summer.
The feel of silk fabric is unmistakable: smooth
and luxurious, the fabric ripples like the surface of
water. This quality makes it especially suitable for
sexy lingerie and elegant dresses. It is a fabric
reserved for special occasions, a cloth meant to
enhance a moment. Check out our bountiful
collection of silk fabrics as well as our Silk Color
Match Collection.