Chinese Origins

The long story of silk dates back to 2640BC and Empress Si Ling Chi who encouraged both the culture of the silk worm and developed the process of reeling from the cocoon – the invention of the loom. The Chinese kept this as their secret for 3000 years.

However by the first millennium BC the Chinese started to trade their silk cloth overseas.

From then there are mentions of silk by Aristotle in Greece who stated that it was on the island of Kos where silk was ‘first spun’ in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.

The culture of silk weaving has historic roots in India from this period and today India still maintains its strong foothold as one of the main silk producing countries of the World.

Japan’s most venerated books mentions of the teachings of silk production in the 4th century.

In the 8th century the Moors carried the Art of silk weaving across Northern Africa, Spain and Sicily. Italy and France was thriving in silk production by the 15th century. In latter years when the French settled in England they brought this profitable industry to Norwich, Canterbury and London. Silk stockings were worn by Elizabeth 1 and even the Irish Chieftans dressed in silk outfits.

America too tried its hand at silk production but the high cost of labour impeded its success and today America is the largest importer of silk.

The Manufacture of Silk

The name silk is derived from the Chinese word ‘Si’ meaning silkworm. The manufacture of silk fabric is produced not only by the well-known mulberry leaf-eating silk worm but also by a variety of other insects including spiders.

The silk worms/caterpillars enclose themselves within a cocoon of fibrous substance prior to their transformation into silk moths. Each cocoon can produce lengths of between 600-900mtrs. From its two large glands the caterpillar produces a liquid which hardens when exposed to air. A second pair of glands secretes a gum-like substance which bonds the filaments together. Each cocoon is unwound by machines to form strands.

Not a worm, the so-called silkworm is in fact the larva of a moth. Various species of the moth families Bombbycidae and Saturniidae spin silken cocoons in which to pupate but the Chinese silkworm moth produces so much that it has been the basis of the eastern silk cloth industry for at least 2,000 years. Traditionally, the larvae are fed on white mulberry leaves.

The second stage prepares prepares the raw silk from the loom by twisting and doubling to the required length and thickness. Within this stage silk is organised into different types of weaving for weight and texture.

The silk is then boiled off in soapsuds. This to removes any excess gum and is then prepared for dyeing. Dyeing can be done either on the thread or in the piece.