Raw silk fabric. Natural silk - types of fabric, care and history

Want to know how fabric is woven? Yes, simple! A large frame is taken, carnations are stuffed into it from all sides at the same distance, the warp threads are stretched vertically, and the weft threads will twist them horizontally. But you still need to tinker with the woven silk itself. It must be boiled in a soap-alkaline solution to remove the remaining sericin. To tell the truth, after boiling silk loses up to a third of its former weight. It needs to be weighted with special solutions. Each silk fabric has its own solution. We will not stop at this. Just remember the oak silkworm. When decoction, sericin is not completely removed, the tissue is thick, with nodules. Such a fabric is called wild silk or tussah.
In general, the type of fabric depends on the weave of the threads, which is why silk has different names. Here, in the treasured notebook, everything about silk fabrics is written, as it should be, in alphabetical order!
Atlas. thick fabric satin weave. Weft to warp ratio is one to five. It was first woven, of course, in China, here are the samples, look: light for blouses and dresses, matte from the inside, shiny from the face. Double-sided, heavy, this one is good for bed linen. They also make kimonos and robes from it! satin fabric available for every taste: satin stretch, moire satin with and without a pattern, in a word, the choice is rich. Flowing, gentle and smooth, it is no coincidence that in the first place in my notebook.
Barege. Transparent silk of French origin, made using gas technique: warp to weft - one to one. Lingerie was sewn from the barege, corsets, men's shirts, pantaloons, collars and cuffs were decorated. Later, spinning waste was added to the barege. The fabric, having lost its former luster, soon went out of fashion.
Velvet. Soft, fluffy on the front side, smooth and delicate on the wrong side, take a look. Pile threads are introduced into the base, pulling out the loops - looped velvet is ready. If the loops are cut, it will turn out to be cut, and if the pile is double and of different heights, the velvet is dug. In 1652, the Velvet Yard was created in Russia. Velvet was used to decorate armchairs and sofas, to sew dresses and caftans. Sable fur coats were lined with velvet, it’s a pity we don’t wear such clothes today ...
Batiste. Thin plain weave fabric. Twisted weft and warp threads intertwine each other, creating a uniform texture. Without a pattern and other nonsense, a simple and durable batiste was created in the 13th century by a wonderful master weaver - Francois Baptiste. Today, cambric is woven from cotton, cheap fabric is used for products of various kinds.
Brocatel. One of the examples of patterned weaving. Woolen threads were woven into the silk warp threads, twisted with thin threads of silver or gold, following the intended motifs. It was a high quality fabric. Light, translucent, thin to everyone's wonder.
Bourdesois. Raw silk from damaged silkworm cocoons. Used as weft in low grade fabrics.
Gas. Transparent silk, two warp threads intertwine one weft. There are several varieties of gas, I will list a few without blinking an eye:
gas illusion- the thinnest;
gas-crystal- the most brilliant and bright;
gas marabou- the most rigid;
gas-rice- the softest.
Dreaming or grisette. Low-grade silk with a floral pattern gray color. But the question is, what does the word "dream" mean? A poor girl from the working-class districts of Paris in a modest grisette dress.
Grogron. High quality fabric. The longest thread is obtained from the best silkworm cocoons and the standard of silk weaving is obtained. Slim and lightweight. Fabric for the bride. One part of the word - "gro" - means silk, the other - the name of the place. Because grodeschin - from China, grondaver from Anver, grodeberlin - from Berlin, grodeflorans - from Florence, grodetoire - from Tours, all the same grogron, but of a different texture.
Lady. Double-sided fabric from Damascus, where the face, where the wrong side, cannot be disassembled without a hint. The alternation of satin and linen weave, like the gorgron, has different names and origins. Damask - a satin large pattern on a matte field, damask sparkles with a metallic sheen of flowers on a satin background.
Damascus. Silk fabric of oriental origin. The copra weave was intended for church vestments. A lighter damask of linen weave was worn on the clothes of the laity, damask lace was famous, and upholstered furniture was covered with densely woven heavy damask.
Diasper. Fine golden silk. One warp plus connecting and pattern weft.
Haze. Light transparent silk is embroidered with silk thread - each flower breathes with grace.
Duchess. High quality silk satin, shiny and tight. In the old days, merchants had the number one product, running and lively. Pants, bloomers, shirts were worn by dandy breeders and wealthy Cossacks.
Jacquard. Double-sided shiny silk with a pattern is always at the forefront. Invented by Joseph Maria Jacquard. These are tapestries, and matlasse, and cloquet; everything is produced on a jacquard loom.
Cayosets. Kayoseti printed fabrics gained popularity in Japan in the 111th century. Unusual and original patterns were applied with wooden forms - manners. Often the stuffing was combined with hand-painted stuffing (the flowers are accurately stuffed, the sakura branch is written in ink, signed by the master). For the clothes, the fabric of the kayoseti was used, for the screens, silk-roqueti was painted, using the technique of hot batik, laconically and subtly. Japanese fabrics ancient times and the Middle Ages still amaze descendants.
Crepe. Embossed, translucent silk with and without a pattern. A warp of tightly twisted threads is intertwined with a weakly twisted weft. Crepe has many varieties and names: crepe maronne, crepe de chine, crepe georgette. Delicate, light and soft, blouses and dresses are sewn mainly from crepe. Crepe de chine chassis. It is a lightweight peach skin effect fabric. Do you have versions of this? But strictly speaking between us, the fabric is boiled with sand in large vats. And here is the result!!!
Case. Fabric of Chinese patterned weaving combined with brush painting. Many centuries before our era Chinese masters reached high quality - woven birds fluttering between skillfully written leaves.
Lavable. Soft, flowing, translucent fabric. Thin, light, but highly durable.
Magnul. An example of Chinese weaving laws: silk fabric with the image of terrible dragons.
The fabric of the emperor, each dragon has its own. And there is a big secret in matter. Reed fibers were woven into silk, for softness I rubbed lightly with sand. Dyed with seaweed juice. Is there any other secrets in this fabric? A magnul dress is credited with the power of three elements: water, air and earth. Air is a silk thread of a silkworm butterfly that has flown in from the Garden of Eden. Water is seaweed, it attracted with the color of burnt gold. The earth is reed fibers. No finer fabric has yet been invented!
Organdy. Thin, very sheer fabric. Hard and shiny. For saris, organdy was once woven in India, in the homeland of Tagore and Gandhi. IN modern fashion- evening blouses, jackets - for clothes of different seasons, but mostly, of course, spring-summer.
Pavolok. So called in Rus' the silk brought from Constantinople in the time of the Prophetic Oleg. home decoration, church clothes and ladies' dresses were sewn, despite the Khazar raids.
Brocade. Heavy silk with a rich pattern, woven with silver or gold. Brocade was expensive, it was imported, oddly enough, first from Byzantium, Turkey and Iran. But the best brocade was made in Venice in the Middle Ages. In Russia, satin ribbons and brocade began to be woven in 1594. Church robes were brocade, but the nobility also paid attention to it. Brocade ruled the fashion world in the 70s of the twentieth century. But today, like yesterday, she is in first place in the collections of fashion designers from around the world.
Petinet. Lace silk fabric - floral motifs extravaganza.
Plush. Velvet silk fabric, the pile is long, thick and fluffy, delicate and soft, like a cat's fur. Curtain on an old painting Teddy bear, and today Ksyusha's skirt is made of the same plush.
Poplin. Dense, smooth, one-color or patterned canvas. The name of the fabric gave the French place one. Poplin of expensive varieties for ladies was made from high-quality silk warp; silk tows in the warp plus cotton weft - and cheap poplin is ready for the peasants.
Reps. A dense silk fabric in a small scar, longitudinal or transverse, is formed due to the different thicknesses of the warp and weft threads. Silk rep was expensive and only found in the cities, of course.
Ree. Silk made from the durable yellow fiber of the peacock-eye cocoon. Thin shawls - shantungs made of ri silk are famous for their bright colors.
Scanned silk. Spinned from golden thread with silk. Expensive royal fabric handmade and fine.
Taffeta. Smooth silk plain fabric, sometimes with the effect of "shan-zhan". The weave is simple - weft to warp, one to one. Due to the tight yarn, it is slightly stiff because. In Rus', clothes were sewn from taffeta back in the 15th century. Women's dresses, men's suits, handbags and berets. Taffeta is the oldest silk fabric known to man.
Twill. Dense silk in a small scar, especially good for pillows.
Florence. Silk fantasy of Florentine weavers. Flying fabric, translucent - fun for the rich.
Foulard. Thin fabric made of untwisted silk threads in a plain weave. Soft and lightweight for linens and scarves. Favorite fabric for painting by artists, without a doubt.
Chancha. Silk tows were put into use, high-quality silk in the warp, tows - in wefts.
Chesucha. Shiny yellow dress fabric without a pattern, made from a special kind of silk - tussora. Currently at the height of fashion. Your mothers wore them in the sixties.
Cho ballet. Rigid and transparent, at first glance nondescript. But decorators and dressers appreciated "cho" to the fullest. Light clouds, a ballerina's tutu, a stage curtain, a heroine's cape, a hero's jabot and much more.
Silk. Natural fiber obtained from the silkworm cocoon; as you know, it was used to create fabrics, carpets, outfits ... The length of the thread of one cocoon is two kilometers. According to Confucius, sericulture first appeared in China. Until the 6th century, its secret was kept secret, ready-made fabrics came to Europe. Many varieties of silk are known: Lebanese birotin, Chinese pelams, French glass, gas, damask, muslin ... The properties and appearance of silk depend on the quality of raw materials, processing methods, the type of weaving of threads ... and the master's imagination!

I can tell you a lot more about fabrics. For example, have you heard of "shan-zhane"? This is a Chinese weaving technique when used different color weft and warp threads, it turns out high quality silk, the color, for example, blue, and in the folds - blue. It can be taffeta and organza, shandung and dupont, one movement and the color changes, why not a “chameleon”. Perhaps it is produced differently. Chinese weavers are skilled people, they always knew how to keep secrets. If the base is viscose, and the weft is silk, and one paint will be good! Threads different fabric different qualities absorb paint in different ways. Here are the eccentricities! One thread is obtained in one color, the other - in another. Everything is very simple, but how sensible! "Maintenon", "pompadour", "dubarry"- vintage fabrics named after famous favorites. As if floral ornaments were embroidered on the atlas - bunches of daisies. Vignettes, rose garlands, chubby angels in the bush vines. Rock ornament in the form of shells and swirls of waves, and each movement motif is full.
Favorites formed the taste of the court and Ludovic "Sunshine" and Louis "Lion"! One said: “The state is I!”, the other: “After us, at least a flood!”, And everyone tried as best he could. Struggling to outdo in wealth and luxury all those who ruled before him and just in case, for future times. The most luxurious, to the point of absurdity, style was created in these centuries. Every detail was subordinated to the style of Louis 14, from fabrics to table legs. Here's an example for you: the Lavalier bow, a tie knot, is famous only for the fact that Louise de Lavalier's favorite tied it around Louis's neck.
There were also "facial" fabrics: they were created in Tabriz, Kashan and Isfahan. Boys, girls, scenes from epics and legends, riders slaying dragons and lions; often there were images of birds and flowers.
Not only clothes were sewn from silk, what are you! Thick damask, silk wallpaper, carpets, lace curtains, linen, shoes, hats were woven for furniture upholstery and walls ... The first paper was made from silk weaving waste, as well as cotton wool, and kimonos and dressing gowns were insulated with it.
The cord of bicycle and car racing tires, strong ropes and thin cables were made from silk ... Silk thread is distinguished by high strength - this is without any questions.
At the dawn of the twentieth century, the development of aviation began, and the parachute invented by Leonardo da Vinci becomes a real sensation. Hundreds of thousands of pilots were saved by a silkworm - a mulberry moth, a guardian angel helping everyone. In addition to pilots, he also saved the souls of others: a strong silk thread has long been used in surgery.
And, finally, I want to tell you about Chinese weaving: this topic is interesting, not only for weavers. The weaving art of the Chinese examples date back to the second millennium BC! These are the most different types silks, from satin to organza, with various ornaments, imagine. About 50 ornaments existed in the era of the Tang Dynasty: "butterflies frolicking among the flowers" enlivened the fabric; “lotus and reed”, “dragon and phoenix”, “peonies”, “water herbs with fish”, “palaces and pavilions”…
Silk paintings are part of Chinese culture. Wen Zhenheng in his books, by the way, states that “an exalted husband cannot but keep in his house, among other paintings, one or two such canvases”, on which landscapes of famous artists, and, in addition, a calligraphic inscription should decorate the canvas.

Silk thread is natural material, made from fibers obtained from the cocoon of the silkworm. The domesticated butterfly of the “true silkworm” family became one of the most significant discoveries of its time and a breakthrough in spinning and weaving. This event took place about 3000 years ago BC. The ancestral home of the domesticated representative of the valuable Lepidoptera was the region of northern China and the south of Primorsky Krai. From the geography of distribution of the silkworm butterfly, it becomes clear that the Chinese were the first to benefit from the "taming" of the wild "representative" of this winged insect.

Some myths

People in China are very fond of stories. According to the established legend, everything happened during the reign of the mythical Yellow Emperor. The eldest wife of the legendary ruler Huang Di, Lei Zu, introduced her people to the secrets of breeding caterpillars and twisting threads from the fibers of silkworm cocoons, for which she was nicknamed Xi-Ling-Chi - the mistress of silk worms, and later even elevated to the host of gods, making her a goddess sericulture. In general, the very time of the reign of the yellow emperor is a tangle of legends and myths, and the tendency of the ancient Chinese to attribute everything important events to their rulers, and no one knows exactly how everything really happened. Nevertheless, until now, in one of the provinces of China - Zhejian, in the middle of spring - on April 5, a holiday-fair is held with a visit to the statue of Empress Xi-Ling-Chi and offering gifts to her.

According to another, more mundane legend, women picking fruits from trees put white fruits, harder, and, as it turned out, unsuitable for eating, in baskets along with ordinary ones. But women did not yet know this and were looking for a way to make "unusual fruits" edible. Having boiled them, they began to beat the “strange fruits” with sticks to soften them, but, in the end, instead of pulp, they got many, many thin threads - the white fruits turned out to be silkworm cocoons.

There are many other stories about the origin of the production of silk threads, but they are even more fantastic, and more like fairy tales for children.

History of silk

In addition to legends, there are historical facts the beginning of the practical application of cocoon threads. Archaeological excavations have shown that the secrets of making silk fabric were known even during the Neolithic culture.

During numerous excavations in various Chinese provinces, not only written references were found, in the form of hieroglyphs with symbols of silk, a mulberry tree and a cocoon, but also the cocoons themselves, and the surviving fragments of silk products.

Until the unification of China into a single state in the third century BC, there were many independent estates in the territory of the Celestial Empire. By the middle of the first millennium BC, about six states on the territory of present-day China owned own production threads, fabrics and products from it.

The united China zealously defended the secret of silk production and the cultivation of caterpillars, and for good reason - at one time it was the main source of income for both manufacturers and the entire imperial house. The strictest ban was imposed not only on the production of silk, but also on the export of seeds and sprouts of the mulberry tree and the silkworm itself: larvae, caterpillars, cocoons. Any violation was punishable by death.

In the second century BC. Great was laid silk road- caravan road connecting East Asia with the Mediterranean. From the very name of this route, it becomes clear that silk was the main commodity of caravans from Asia. For millennia, China has remained the monopoly producer of this material. But already in 300 AD, the secret of breeding "silk worms" and the production of threads from cocoons was mastered by Japan, and after it - in 522 by Byzantium (with the help of two "inquisitive" monks) and some of the Arab countries from which, subsequently , during the Crusades, the "silk secret" "leaks" to Europe.

How silk thread is born

The silkworm is grown on purpose today. There are many breeding varieties that differ not only in the ability to live and breed in various conditions but also the frequency of reproduction. Some species can bring offspring once a year, others - twice, and still others can give birth to several offspring within one year.

Butterfly (silkworm moth)

Domesticated representatives are kept in special farms, where the process begins with mating, after which the female moth lays eggs, from which the worst are culled. During the mating season, moths of different sexes are planted in special bags, and at the end of it, the female lays eggs for several days. Silkworms are quite prolific and can lay 300 to 600 eggs at a time.
The butterfly itself is quite large in size. An adult can reach a length of up to 6 centimeters with the same wingspan. Despite such impressive wings, domesticated moths are unable to fly. Their lifespan is only 12 days. Another interesting fact: the butterfly is not able to eat and all its moth life it is in a state of hunger due to the underdevelopment of the mouth and digestive organs.

Larvae and caterpillars

In order for the larvae to emerge from the eggs, they are kept for 8-10 days at a certain air humidity and temperature - 24-25 ° C. After hatching, hairy, 3 mm larvae, they are transferred to another, well-ventilated room, in special trays, where they begin to intensively feed on fresh mulberry leaves. Within one month, the larva will molt 4 times and eventually turn into a large caterpillar (up to 8 cm long and up to 1 cm in diameter) of light pearl color and large jaws on a large head.
The most important organ of the caterpillar, which is why it is grown, is located under the lip. It looks like a tubercle, from which a special liquid is released, which, when solidified, turns into a thin and strong thread - in the future, after certain manipulations, turned into silk. A tubercle is a place where two silk secreting glands converge, the fibroin thread secreted by them is glued together in this place with the help of sericin (the caterpillar's natural glue).

Pupation process (cocoon formation)

After the fourth molt and transformation from a larva to a caterpillar, the silkworm becomes less voracious. Gradually, the silk-secreting glands are completely filled, and the caterpillar begins, literally oozes with it, continuously leaving behind a frozen secretion (fibroin) as it moves along. At the same time, a noticeable change in its color occurs - it becomes translucent. What is happening suggests that the "silkworm" is entering the pupation phase. After that, it is transferred to a tray with small cocoon pegs, on which the silkworm settles and begins to twist its cocoon, with a quick movement of the head, releasing up to 3 cm of thread per turn. Cocoons, depending on the type of silkworm, may have different shape: round, elongated, oval. Their sizes vary from 1 to 6 cm. The color of the cocoon can be white, golden, and sometimes acquire a lilac color. The length of the thread used to create a cocoon can be from 800 m to 1500 m, the thickness is 0.011-0.012 mm (for example: a human hair has a diameter of 0.04-0.12 mm).

An interesting fact: the cocoons of males have a denser structure and are of better quality.

Formation of a silk thread from a cocoon

After many cocoons have appeared on the trays, they are collected and subjected to heat treatment, thereby killing the caterpillar inside, to prevent the butterfly from hatching. During this process, sorting and rejection are also carried out. The cocoons remaining after sorting are subjected to softening and tearing, as well as the primary removal of impurities, by boiling them for several hours in a boiling soapy solution or steaming them with steam. Following boiling or steaming, the cocoons are left to soak for a while. During the necessary procedures described above, the sericin (adhesive substance) is washed out and impurities are removed, after which the multi-stage process of thread formation begins.

Silk cocoon fiber, at the initial stage of processing, consists of many elements, including: fibroin (protein) - up to 75% of the total weight, sericin (silk viscous, protein glue) - up to 23%, as well as wax, minerals and some from fats. In addition to the main ones (fibroin and sericin), there are about 18 more components.

Then, with the help of a brush, the ends of the fiber are found and, depending on what the thickness of the silk thread should be in the future, one or another number of cocoons are left. On average, it takes about 5,000 silkworm cocoons and 36 hours of winding to form one kilogram of fabric. For clarity of the described process - we advise you to look next video, which presents non-industrial, artisanal way production:

Preparatory work before bleaching and dyeing the thread

As a rule, before dyeing or bleaching natural silk, it is first subjected to heat treatment in a special solution that removes residual sericin. As ingredients for a solution with a volume of one liter can serve:

40% oleic soap - 3.6 g;
soda ash - 0.25 g.

Threads are lowered into the prepared solution and boiled at a temperature of 95 ° C for half an hour, followed by thorough washing in order to wash out the remaining components, for subsequent uniform staining. The composition of the flushing liquid per liter of water:

sodium hexametaphosphate - 0.5 g;
ammonia - 0.5 ml.

Washing takes place at a temperature of 70 °C.

After washing is completed, the threads are rinsed in non-hot water. Optimum temperature rinsed liquid - 50-55 ° С.

Whitening

To get snow-white silk, it must be bleached. For bleaching, an alkaline solution is used, the main ingredient of which is ordinary hydrogen peroxide. The prepared raw materials are soaked, with occasional stirring, for 9-13 hours in a solution of water and peroxide heated to 70 ° C.

Coloring

The dyeing process is no less laborious. Its main components can be natural dyes, and their chemical counterparts. Before dyeing itself, the raw material is pre-etched with a 1% solution using metal salts. As a pickling agent, as a rule, the following are used:

potassium alum;
inkstone;
sulfate copper;
chrome-potassium alum;
chromopic;
dichloride tin.

Before immersion in the pickling bath, the raw material is soaked in water. After the end of the cold pickling, which lasts about 24 hours, the threads are also rinsed and dried. The silk is ready to be dyed.

There are many ways of staining, some of which are still unknown to the general public, as they are the know-how of one or another master.

For those who want to practice dyeing silk in the microwave, we recommend watching this video:

revival

To give shine, as well as richness of colors, the raw materials are treated with the essence of acetic acid.

Decating

And finally, silk threads are steamed for several minutes high pressure, this process is called - decatization, its necessity is due to the removal of structural stress inside the threads themselves.

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Until now, it is in China that silk of the highest quality is produced, which is in great demand all over the world.

Thanks to modern technologies consumers have the opportunity to choose among an unimaginable number of silk fabrics that differ in the quality of raw materials, the type of weaving of threads in the canvas, and the processing method finished material and price. The latter can reach up to several tens of thousands of rubles.

THE MOST KNOWN TYPES OF NATURAL SILK

CHIFFON

A very thin, delicate, flowing fabric made of crepe-twisted silk fibers, with an uneven surface that feels like sand to the touch. Ideal for summer dresses, sundresses, tunics and light blouses.

READ HOW TO WORK WITH SILK CHIFON ON BURDASTYLE.RU

ATLAS

If this word is translated literally, it will turn out "smooth". Silk fabric in satin weave with glossy face. The satin type of weave was invented in China. Smooth and patterned, moire, heavy and other varieties of atlases are known. Atlas is used for making scarves, ties, curtains, furniture upholstery, decorations for expensive church vestments. In addition, wedding dresses are sewn from satin silks.

VELVET ON SILK BASIS

Velvet is a pile fabric with a soft fluffy front surface. The basis for the pile, which determines the grade of velvet, can be silk. In Russia, for the first time, velvet began to be made at a silk manufactory, back in the 18th century.

SILK BATISTE

Thin translucent soft mercerized fabric, plain weave of tightly twisted threads. It has high strength combined with lightness and transparency. The name of the fabric comes from the name of its creator Francois Baptiste of Cambrai, a French weaver who lived in the 13th century. Silk cambric is a great alternative to 100% silk, as it is much cheaper and easier to work with.

GAS

Lightweight sheer fabric made of silk, characterized by the peculiarity of working out. Gas is found in plain and diagonal weave.

PLAIN DYED SILK

Textile top quality, from the finest silkworm cocoons, producing a long, intact thread. The quality of the raw materials makes it possible to achieve a very tight twist of the yarn, but at the same time its weight is small.

DUSHES

Very shiny high-quality dense material woven from silk fibers.

CREPE

Translated from the French "crepe" - rough, wavy. A fabric made from silk threads with a very large (crepe) twist. The most common types: crepe de chine, crepe chiffon, crepe georgette, crepe satin. The crepe drapes well and boasts low creasing.

SILK VEIL

From the French "Voile": veil, veil. A smooth translucent fabric made from silk yarn. The veil is bleached, dyed and printed, often with embroidery.

LACE IS A DELICATE AND DIFFICULT MATERIAL IN WORK. OUR TIPS WILL TELL YOU HOW TO SEW FROM LACE

MATLASSE

Fabric made of natural silk with a jacquard pattern similar to stitches on batting. According to the method of manufacture and appearance resembles a cloque.

MUSLIN

Very thin, light silk fabric with a plain weave, similar to batiste. The word "muslin" comes from the name of the city of Mosul in Iraq, where in ancient times there were textile manufactories.

BROCADE

Complexly patterned artistic and decorative fabric with a silk base, containing metal threads with gold, silver or materials imitating them. Gold and silver threads in brocade were made from pure precious metal only in antiquity.

TAFFETA

Glossy silk fabric of very tightly twisted plain weave threads. Due to this, taffeta is a rather rigid material, although thin, it keeps its shape well.

WHAT

Rigid dress fabric yellow color, made from a special kind of silk - tussora.

LEARN ABOUT THE TYPES OF KNITTED FABRICS AND THEIR FEATURES FROM OUR MASTER CLASS

All of the listed varieties of silk fabrics are obtained from the cocoon of the silkworm, the raw material for the manufacture of yarn for weaving. This is a completely natural material, unusually soft, delicate and at the same time durable.

The same names are also used to refer to synthetic "silk" fabrics, which at first glance are very similar to real silk. If you are an experienced buyer, you can easily distinguish natural material from artificial. In addition, fabric stores that value their reputation and value every customer are unlikely to cheat.

But what about a newbie? Or if there is no marking on the fabric? There are a few simple ways which will help to unmistakably recognize the real silk fabric.

HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE NATURAL SILK FROM A FAKE

Price is one of the first, but not the main hallmarks. Natural silk is always more expensive than its synthetic counterparts.
Silk is very pleasant to the touch. Gentle, soft, flows easily and smoothly "drains" from the hands. Artificial is much colder tactile and tougher.
Natural silk has unique thermal properties - in contact with the body, it acquires its temperature.
Unlike synthetic fabrics, it has a high hygroscopicity.
The luster of natural silk is natural, muted, with different lighting changes hue, the color shimmers. Artificial has a characteristic luster, but the color does not change.
Like any other natural fabrics, silk is wrinkled, but slightly. Soft folds are formed, which are almost imperceptible and straighten out on their own in the process of wearing. The wrinkling of artificial silk is more pronounced - creases remain, which sometimes even with an iron cannot be smoothed out.
Synthetic silk fabrics have strong flowability along the edge of the cuts.

THE MOST RELIABLE WAY TO DETERMINE THE AUTHENTICITY OF NATURAL SILK

This is to pull out a few threads from the fabric and set them on fire. Burning, they should smell like wool, burnt hair.

Ash from such an experiment easily crumbles.

While synthetic material does not burn, but melts, exuding bad smell plastics and forming a hard caked lump. Viscose silk smolders and smells exactly the same as if you set fire to a piece of paper. The ashes from it can be rubbed in the fingers.

Production of natural silk is a very laborious, but also the most amazing process in the modern textile industry. The technology invented in antiquity has remained virtually unchanged to this day.

For natural silk production today, as well as 4000 years ago, the silkworm cocoon thread, which is also called the "silkworm", is used. The fabric produced with the help of the silkworm is the most expensive and widespread in the world.
to produce silk first started in China, and for a long time production features were kept a great secret. And until now, China holds a leading position in the world market for the production of silk.

Modern production includes not only the process of obtaining a silk thread, but also the cultivation of a silkworm. One caterpillar in a relatively short life can produce several thousand meters of valuable silk thread, while the percentage of defects in such production is negligible.

The adult silkworm is a thick butterfly with whitish wings. Insects feed exclusively on the foliage of the mulberry tree, or mulberry. In early spring or summer, the butterfly lays eggs, which are stored until the next spring. As soon as the leaves appear on the mulberry trees, the eggs are placed in specialized incubators, where the temperature gradually rises. Then a caterpillar appears, and in this stage the insect is from 21 to 34 days.

Caterpillars are constantly in the process of eating leaves, respectively, they grow quite quickly, increasing their weight by 10-12 thousand times. As soon as the head of the insect darkens, this means that the insect begins to molt. After four molts, the body of the caterpillar turns yellow, the skin becomes denser, the silk glands are filled with a protein liquid. The caterpillar is placed on special devices - cocoons, releases a thin thread and weaves a cocoon from it, wrapping itself around itself - this is how the transformation into a chrysalis begins. After about two weeks, the chrysalis becomes a butterfly.

In order to break free from the cocoon, the butterfly secretes an alkaline liquid that dissolves the cocoon threads. However, the cocoon must not be damaged, otherwise holes may appear in the shells, and such cocoons are rather difficult to unwind. Therefore, cocoons are specially treated with hot air or kept for several hours at high temperature about 100 °C, as a result of which the caterpillar dies, and the cocoon is easily untwisted. The cocoons are then dried and sorted. Thin silk threads consist of two silk filaments, which are glued together with a substance called sericin. In order to get a denser and stronger thread, when unwinding, the threads from several cocoons are connected, while sericin firmly glues the threads to each other. The resulting threads are neatly sorted, stacked and woven into a single fabric.

Although production of natural silk is laborious process, this technology and the high price of matter is fully justified due to its unique properties. So, natural silk has the ability to instantly thermoregulate, also silk products are well ventilated, do not accumulate static electricity, the fabric is very elastic, durable.

Video - how silk is produced:

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Nowadays, there are a great many types of silk, but with this choice, the main thing is not to make a mistake in its authenticity. How to distinguish where is a fake, and where is a natural fabric?

It won't be too difficult. Pull out a few threads from the fabric, and set them on fire - natural silk does not burn and has the smell of burnt hair. A caked-on lump of scorched silk fibers can be rubbed in your hands like an ordinary ember. This method of determining authenticity gives almost 100% accuracy.

other methods

One more less exact way determining the authenticity of natural silk is based on sensations. Take a piece of cloth and apply it to your body or cheek. You should experience only pleasant sensations and no discomfort. Silk has special thermal properties, thanks to which it immediately acquires the temperature of your body. Due to these properties, silk is often called the "second skin".

It should also be noted that natural silk differs from the artificial structure of the fibers. Silk fibers are softer and more elastic, so fabrics made from natural silk are less wrinkled. To test this theory, you need to gather the fabric into folds and clench it in a fist. Then, after a few seconds, look at the result of the wrinkling of the fabric. Artificial fabric will have clear creases, and natural silk will be barely noticeable.

Buy

Natural silk and its products are popular all over the world. For many centuries, silk was the fabric of kings and the rich. You can feel and appreciate all the luxury of natural silk, as well as bed linen made of natural silk, in our online store, or in our offline store at 7 Kronstadtsky Boulevard.