Silk – the Basics

The history of silk is hidden by time, secrecy, and legend. Silk production started in China around 5000 years ago. The bombyx mori silk moth is considered to be the first producer of silk. The most common story, even though it’s almost certainly a legend, is told by Confucius. He said that around 2640 BC the Empress Xi Ling-Shi, commonly known as the Lady of the Silkworms, accidentally dropped a silk cocoon into a cup of hot tea. When she pulled the cocoon out it, she found a silken thread. Legend has it she was captivated by its delicate beauty, and encouraged the development of silk for textile purposes. Whether that story is true or not, it is true that the Chinese wore silk clothing while Europe was still in the Stone Age.

Silkworms eat the leaves of mulberry trees. In order for silk production to spread, worms and trees were necessary. Chinese silk sold in Japan and Asia was discovered by the Romans in the 3rd Century BC. Julius Caesar reportedly liked it so much he restricted the wearing of silk to himself and a favored few.

China maintained a monopoly for around 2500 years until the secrets of sericulture were reportedly smuggled in a form of commercial espionage by Persian monks carrying silkworm eggs in their hollow pilgrim canes. From there silk production spread to Persia, Japan, Korea, India, Greece and around the 10th century to Spain and Italy. By the 15th century the French had imported from Italy the techniques and o produce silk, and Lyons became an important centre for silk production as a succession of French Kings encouraged the industry.

Today China produces around 70% of the raw silk world production – Japan, India, Russia, Korea and Brazil are the other major producers.

Why is silk such a sought-after fabric? Silk has wonderful properties of movement and flow. It has a luxurious sheen from its smooth, continuous, triangular fibers which reflect light. It is also a very strong, elastic fiber that can stretch 20-25% without breaking- and it will stretch back.

If you want to know whether a fabric is silk, simply burn a small piece. It should not burn easily and will leave a shiny black residue that crumbles to ash if you rub it between your fingers.

There are three main types of weave, plain, twill and satin. Silk is also described by a number: for instance, a fabric may be “habotai 10.” The number “10” refers to the weight of the silk – the higher the number, the heavier the fabric. A “5” is a light silk and a “14” is a rich, heavy silk.

Why is silk a popular fabric for clothing? It’s high in strength. Silk fabrics have good absorbency. Fabrics made from silk are comfortable in the summer and warm in the winter. While silk fabrics have only moderate resistance to wrinkling, they do possess excellent memory, so if they’re stretched they typically return to their original shape.

Silk garments should be dry-cleaned. If you want to hand or machine wash “washable” silk garments, you should first test for water spotting in an obscure place because silk water-spots easily. With the proper care, silk garments are durable, long-lasting, and beautiful.

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