Silk fabrics are luxurious materials coveted and revered as far back as ancient days. It was rated as gold standard textiles in the ancient trade by barter business, and in the Middle Ages, travelling caravans in Asia traded extensively in the fabric. Silk was the popular fabric amongst royalty, the wealthy, and the influential.
A myth or a fact? Well, legend has it that silk thread was accidentally discovered by a young Chinese Empress, Hsi Ling Shi, about 5,000 years ago. While drinking her afternoon tea, a silkworm dropped into her teacup. The cocoon unravelled into a small mass of threads, perhaps due to the heat from the tea.
The process of converting the silk threads into fabric followed a gradual process that was a guarded secret until generations later.
Farming and Rearing Silkworms
The process of farming silkworms is called sericulture. The practice starts with tree planting to breed and rear the silkworms. The worms (caterpillars) weave threaded cocoons around themselves for the metamorphosis stage. This stage lasts about three weeks. When moths emerge from their cocoons, manual harvesting and fibre-unravelling begins. The silk fibres then go through the slow manual process of producing silk yarn.
Silk is a strong fabric. Its natural and eco-friendly fibres belie its fragile appearance. As regards its construction and strength, the material is surpassed only by nylon, a polymer-based synthetic fabric.
Types of Silk Fabrics
There are two main categories of silk fabrics. They are pure (100%) and silk blends. While pure silk fabrics are soft, beautiful, and expensive, silk blends are great alternatives that are less expensive and affordable.
Pure Silk Materials
Raw silk
Mulberry silk
Muga silk
Spider silk
Charmeuse silk
Silk Dupioni
Duchess Satin Silk
Silk Blends (Imitation silk)
Viscose silk
Rayon silk
Bamboo silk
Reeded silk
Polyester silk
Silk Taffeta
Silk cotton voile
Imitation silk closely resembles 100% silk materials. Its textile construction involves weaving pure silk warp (vertical) fibres with natural or synthetic weft (horizontal) fibres. Weft fibres include cotton, flax, nylon, polyester, and rayon.
The Versatility of Silk Textiles
Silk Fabrics for Fashion
Silk is the darling of fashion designers. Fashionable clothing, including lingerie, pyjamas, robes, and kimono attires, are made with silk materials, and so are fashion accessories – purses, clutch bags, ties, scarves, and house slippers.
Home Décor and Furnishings
The attractive lustre of silk fabrics makes it desirable for many interior furnishing projects. From upholstery and linen to wall coverings, window treatments, rugs, and fold-able screens, silk plays a role in interior design.
Industrial and Commercial Products
Some industrial and commercial products have silk components, like bicycle tyres, parachutes, and traditional artillery gunpowder bags. New uses and manufacturing techniques have been found for silk fibres. This makes them useful for everything from disposable cups to holography and drug delivery systems.