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| Rugs 101 - Information Center for Oriental Rugs |
Materials - Silk
Silk is one of the oldest known textile fibers. According to Chinese legend, it was used
as long ago as the 27th century B.C. The silkworm moth is a native of China, and for
almost 3000 years the gathering and weaving of silk was a secret process known only
to the Chinese.
According to Chinese legend, silk was discovered in the garden of the emperor
Huamgdi. The emperor asked his wife, Xilingshi, to find out what was damaging his
mulberry trees. Xilingshi found white worms eating the mulberry leaves and spinning
shiny cocoons. She accidentally dropped a cocoon into hot water and watched as the
delicate, cob-web like tangle separated itself from the cocoon. Xilingshi is also credited
with the creation of the silk reel. China successfully guarded the secret of silk
production until 300 AD, when Japan, and later India, stole the secret.
References in the Old Testament indicate that silk was known in Biblical times in
western Asia. From there, it was transplanted to the Greek islands of the Aegean Sea.
The Chinese are believed to have built up a lucrative trade with the west from the days
of the Han dynasty in the 2nd century BC. The ancient Persian courts used Chinese
silk by unraveling it and reweaving it into Persian designs.
When the king of Persia, Darius III, surrendered to Alexander the Great, he was clothed
in such great silken splendor that Alexander demanded the equivalent of 7 million
dollars worth of silk as spoils. Caravans carried silk on camelback from Asia to
Damascus, Syria, along a treacherous route known as the Silk Road. Silk was traded
for western luxuries not found in the east, some of these artifacts still existing even
today.
The Roman statesman and general Gaius Julius Caesar officially restricted the use of
silk for himself ad for use in he togas of officials that he favored. Despite these
restrictions, bootlegging allowed those who could afford silk to wear it.
All silk in Europe came from Asian sources until 550 AD, when the Roman emperor
Justinian I sent two Nestorian monks to China. Risking their lives, they stole mulberry
leaves and silkworm eggs by hiding them in holes in their walking sticks. When these
goods arrived back in Byzantium, the Asian monopoly on silk production had ended.
Silkworm is the common name for the silk-producing larvae of any of several species of
moths. Silkworms posses a pair of specially modified salivary glands, called sericteris,
which are used in the production of cocoons. The silk glands secrete a clear, viscous
fluid, which hardens when it comes into contact with the air. The diameter of the hole
through which the fluid is secreted, the spinneret, determines the thickness of the silk
being produced.
The best known silkworm is the larvae of the common, domesticated silkworm, Bombyx
Mori. This moth is native to China only. The moth has been cultivated for many
centuries, and is no longer found in the wild. The female silkworm dies immediately
after laying her eggs, and the male dies shortly thereafter. The female deposits 300 to
400 Bluish eggs which are attached to a surface by a sticky secretion form the female.
The larvae, which hatch in about ten days, average around .25 inches long. These
larvae feed on mulberry leaves in order to produce the finest quality of silk. Mature
larvae grow to about three inches long.
Approximately 6 weeks after hatching, the silkworm stops eating and begins spinning
its cocoon. The length of an individual fiber composing the cocon varies from 1000 to
3000 feet. The silkworm then pupates for two weeks before emerging as an adult
moth. Tearing during this emergence destroys the silk for any commercial use.
Therefore, for the production of silk, only enough adult moths are allowed to emerge in
order to allow for the survival of the species. All of the other moths are killed within the
cocoon during the heated water or oven process which unravels the cocoon.
The amount of usable silk from each cocoon is very small. Around 500 silkworms, or
160 pounds of cocoons and 400 pounds of mulberry leaves are required to make 2.2
pounds of raw silk. The silk thread is a continuous filament fiber consisting of fibroin
protein secreted from two salivary glands in the head of each larvae and a gum, called
sericin, which cements the two filaments together. Silk must be reeled off of the cocoon
quickly before the pupae begins to rot. Cocoons are initially soaked in hot water to
remove the sericin, which loosens the silk fibers. Single filaments of silk are drawn
from the cocoons into water bowls and are combined to form yarn. This yarn is drawn
under tension through several guides and is eventually wound onto reels. The yarn is
dried, packed according to quality, and is then ready for marketing as raw silk.
Silk filaments are very fine and long, ranging from 900 to 3000 feet in length. Silk has a
natural luster and sheen, and is white or cream in color. Silk is one of the strongest
natural fibers, being able to hold five grams per denier. When it is dry, the fibers can be
stretched 10 to 25 % of their own length, and when wet can be stretched to 35 percent.
Silk can absorb up to 11% of its own weight in moisture. Silk does not require a
mordant to be dyed.
as long ago as the 27th century B.C. The silkworm moth is a native of China, and for
almost 3000 years the gathering and weaving of silk was a secret process known only
to the Chinese.
According to Chinese legend, silk was discovered in the garden of the emperor
Huamgdi. The emperor asked his wife, Xilingshi, to find out what was damaging his
mulberry trees. Xilingshi found white worms eating the mulberry leaves and spinning
shiny cocoons. She accidentally dropped a cocoon into hot water and watched as the
delicate, cob-web like tangle separated itself from the cocoon. Xilingshi is also credited
with the creation of the silk reel. China successfully guarded the secret of silk
production until 300 AD, when Japan, and later India, stole the secret.
References in the Old Testament indicate that silk was known in Biblical times in
western Asia. From there, it was transplanted to the Greek islands of the Aegean Sea.
The Chinese are believed to have built up a lucrative trade with the west from the days
of the Han dynasty in the 2nd century BC. The ancient Persian courts used Chinese
silk by unraveling it and reweaving it into Persian designs.
When the king of Persia, Darius III, surrendered to Alexander the Great, he was clothed
in such great silken splendor that Alexander demanded the equivalent of 7 million
dollars worth of silk as spoils. Caravans carried silk on camelback from Asia to
Damascus, Syria, along a treacherous route known as the Silk Road. Silk was traded
for western luxuries not found in the east, some of these artifacts still existing even
today.
The Roman statesman and general Gaius Julius Caesar officially restricted the use of
silk for himself ad for use in he togas of officials that he favored. Despite these
restrictions, bootlegging allowed those who could afford silk to wear it.
All silk in Europe came from Asian sources until 550 AD, when the Roman emperor
Justinian I sent two Nestorian monks to China. Risking their lives, they stole mulberry
leaves and silkworm eggs by hiding them in holes in their walking sticks. When these
goods arrived back in Byzantium, the Asian monopoly on silk production had ended.
Silkworm is the common name for the silk-producing larvae of any of several species of
moths. Silkworms posses a pair of specially modified salivary glands, called sericteris,
which are used in the production of cocoons. The silk glands secrete a clear, viscous
fluid, which hardens when it comes into contact with the air. The diameter of the hole
through which the fluid is secreted, the spinneret, determines the thickness of the silk
being produced.
The best known silkworm is the larvae of the common, domesticated silkworm, Bombyx
Mori. This moth is native to China only. The moth has been cultivated for many
centuries, and is no longer found in the wild. The female silkworm dies immediately
after laying her eggs, and the male dies shortly thereafter. The female deposits 300 to
400 Bluish eggs which are attached to a surface by a sticky secretion form the female.
The larvae, which hatch in about ten days, average around .25 inches long. These
larvae feed on mulberry leaves in order to produce the finest quality of silk. Mature
larvae grow to about three inches long.
Approximately 6 weeks after hatching, the silkworm stops eating and begins spinning
its cocoon. The length of an individual fiber composing the cocon varies from 1000 to
3000 feet. The silkworm then pupates for two weeks before emerging as an adult
moth. Tearing during this emergence destroys the silk for any commercial use.
Therefore, for the production of silk, only enough adult moths are allowed to emerge in
order to allow for the survival of the species. All of the other moths are killed within the
cocoon during the heated water or oven process which unravels the cocoon.
The amount of usable silk from each cocoon is very small. Around 500 silkworms, or
160 pounds of cocoons and 400 pounds of mulberry leaves are required to make 2.2
pounds of raw silk. The silk thread is a continuous filament fiber consisting of fibroin
protein secreted from two salivary glands in the head of each larvae and a gum, called
sericin, which cements the two filaments together. Silk must be reeled off of the cocoon
quickly before the pupae begins to rot. Cocoons are initially soaked in hot water to
remove the sericin, which loosens the silk fibers. Single filaments of silk are drawn
from the cocoons into water bowls and are combined to form yarn. This yarn is drawn
under tension through several guides and is eventually wound onto reels. The yarn is
dried, packed according to quality, and is then ready for marketing as raw silk.
Silk filaments are very fine and long, ranging from 900 to 3000 feet in length. Silk has a
natural luster and sheen, and is white or cream in color. Silk is one of the strongest
natural fibers, being able to hold five grams per denier. When it is dry, the fibers can be
stretched 10 to 25 % of their own length, and when wet can be stretched to 35 percent.
Silk can absorb up to 11% of its own weight in moisture. Silk does not require a
mordant to be dyed.