Silk Fabric: Basic Guide on Characteristics of Silk

SILK - A fiber derived from the cocoon of the silkworm and also from certain species of spider. The cultivation of the mulberry tree, upon whose leaves the silkworm feeds, dates back to about 2640 BC in China. Chinese records of that period mention the use of silk in robes, sun shades, etc.

Silk probably became known to the Mesopotamians, Egyptians and Greeks some-time in the second century BC through Persian and Phoenician traders. Although it was worn by Cleopatra in the first century BC it was rarely used in Egyptian textiles until the fifth century AD. Heiogabalus (204-222 AD) was the first Roman emperor to wear silk. In the Byzantine period, raw silk was imported from China and woven in the emperor's palace in Constantinople. Its production was then being controlled by the emperor. This woven silk was valued at fabulous sums. In 360 AD the Persian king, victorious in a war against Constantinople, carried away the most skillful weavers. This was the foundation of the subsequent fame of Persian silk. It was in the sixth century during Justinian's reign (527-565) that Byzantine silk culture was again at its height, to last another three centuries. Under his patronage, eggs of the silkworm and seeds of the mulberry bush were brought from China by two Persian monks, concealed in their hollow bamboo stuff.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SILK:
•Silk is the most luxurious fiber.
•Silk is comfortable to wear, cool in summer and warm in winter.
•Silk is warm but lightweight.
•Silk is resilient and elastic; it holds its shape and resists wrinkling.
•Silk can be used in a variety of fabric constructions from very sheer to very heavy.
•Silk can be supple and drapeable, as well as stiff and bouffant.
•Some kind of silk has high luster.
•Silk has little static buildup.,
•Silk absorbs moisture well and dries quickly.
•Cultivated silk dye and print well.
•Silk does not pill or soil easily.
•It is resistant to mildew, but susceptible to moths and insects.
•It is weakened by sunlight, yellow when exposed to light, excess heat, and with age.
•Silk is damaged by perspiration and body oils.
•Silk fiber doesn't shrink, but many silk fabrics do.
•Most silk requires dry cleaning, but some can be laundered, depending on the fabric structure, finish, dye, and the garment structure.
•Silk is easily damaged by strong soap and detergent, hot irons, acids, and alkalies.
•Silk is easily damaged by improper ironing.
•Silk is the strongest natural fiber; but is weak when wet.
•Some kinds of-silk are very slippery.
•Other kinds of silk slip badly at the seam line.