SILK FACTS
• 100% natural protein fibre from Silkworms
• Soft and shimmery, Silk reflects the light due to its fibre’s composition
• Strong and durable fibre
• Fibre is 5 – 10 microns
SILK BENEFITS
• Durable
• Comfortable
• Warm
• Lightweight
• Breathable
SILK STORY
As a textile, Silk is over 6000 years old. The process of creating silk yarn was created in ancient China, with some of the earliest examples found date back to 3500 BC. Originally, silk was reserved for the Emperors of China for their outfits and as gifts to others, but gradually silk became popular in Chinese culture, and then it’s popularity spread to the many regions of Asia, and ultimately the world through the famous silk road.
Raw silk is created by cultivating the silkworms on Mulberry leaves, particularly white ones. Once the worms start pupating in their cocoons, the individual long fibres are extracted and fed into the spinning reel.
Silk yarn has a smooth and soft texture and unlike synthetic fibres it is not slippery. Compared to other natural fibres, silk has a rather small diameter 5 – 10 microns. The beautiful shimmery appearance of silk is created because of its triangular prism-like structure of the fibre. It allows silk cloth to refract incoming light at different angles, thus producing different colors. Silk is one of the strongest and most durable natural fibers but it can loses up to 20% of its strength when wet. It is a very elastic fibre, Silk can stretch 20-25% without breaking.
Image Source:
http://www.ecouterre.com/silkworms-fed-on-green-dyed-leaf-diet-spin-naturally-colored-silk/
http://matter.media.mit.edu/environments/details/silk-pavillion