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| How did silk originate? |
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Once upon a time there lived a Chinese empress,
Si Ling Chi, who watched a silkworm spinning its cocoon while on
her morning walk through the royal gardens. She dreamt of
clothing herself entirely with fabric made only from these fine,
shimmering threads. Such was the beginning of the breeding of
silkworms 5000 years ago, and even today the principles remain
the same.
Another less romantic but more convincing explanation is that
some ancient Chinese women found this wonderful silk by chance.
When they were picking up fruits from the trees, they found a
special kind of fruit, white but too hard to eat, so they boiled
the fruit in hot water but they still could hardly eat it. At
last, they lost their patience and began to beat them with big
sticks. In this way, silks and silkworms were discovered. And
the white hard fruit is a cocoon! |
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| What exactly is silk? |
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| Silk is the fine thread with which a silkworm
spins its cocoon. The silkworm pupates in its cocoon and emerges
20 days later as a moth. The thread which is produced by the
spinning glands of the silkworm is the finest and strongest
natural fibre in the world. Silk is a protein fibre, meaning
that it is chemically quite similar to human skin. Because of
this, silk is an ideal "second skin". |
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| Why is silk so special? |
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- Silk Shines — Because of silk's unique sheen,
colours radiate and assume a luminant character. This
gleaming, however, is not the only quality of silk.
- Silk Caresses — Thanks to its extremely fine and
smooth fibre structure, silk flows in a supple and soft way.
- Silk Insulates — Silk cools and warms
simultaneously. Silk garments are perfect for Summer and
Winter. Silk worn as a second layer underneath warms without
being bulky. It can absorb up to 30% of its weight in moisture
without feeling damp. Silk will absorb perspiration while
letting your skin breathe. Silk contributes to your
well-being.
- Silk Wears — In spite of its delicate appearance,
silk is relatively robust. Its smooth surface resists soil and
odours well. Silk is wrinkle and tear resistant, and dries
quickly.
- Silk is Safe — Because of its protein structure,
silk is the most hypoallergenic of all fabrics. That means
it's less likely to cause allergic reactions to the wearer.
Silk is also fire retardant. It keeps fire from spreading to
its neighborhood, even if it catches fire.
- Silk Flatters — Silk has been celebrated throughout
history: Princesses are clad in silken robes and noblemen in
silken capes. 2000 years ago, Chinese poets wrote of the
harmonizing virtues of silk clothing. Silk remains a magical
fabric with often subtle benefits.
- Silk is naturally wrinkle-resistant, glossy,
hypoallergenic, and easy to care for. Other fabrics can only
claim these qualities after being treated with additives.
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| What is the history of silk? |
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| The History of Silk |
According to Confucius, it was in 2640 B.C.
that the Chinese princess Xi Ling Shi was the first to reel a
cocoon of silk which, legend also has it, had dropped into her
cup of tea. From that historic moment, the Chinese discovered
the life cycle of the silk worm and for the next 3000 years were
to keep their monopoly of silk.
In the 3rd Century B.C., Chinese silk fabrics were beginning to
find their way throughout the whole of Asia, and were
transported overland to the west, and by sea to Japan, in those
long itineraries known as the silk roads. It was in Asia that
the Romans discovered these wondrous fabrics but they knew
nothing of their origin.
In 552 A.D., the Emperor Justinian sent two monks on a mission
to Asia, and they came back to Byzantium with silkworm eggs
hidden inside their bamboo walking sticks. (The earliest known
example of industrial espionage!). From then on, sericulture
spread throughout Asia Minor and Greece.
In the 7th century, the Arabs conquered the Persians, capturing
their magnificent silks in the process, and helped to spread
sericulture and silk weaving as they swept victoriously through
Africa, Sicily and Spain. In the 10th century, Andalusia was
Europe's main silk-producing centre.
Then the Crusaders, the formation of the Mongol Empire, Marco
Polo's journeys in China led to the development of commercial
exchanges between East and West, and to an ever-increasing use
of silk. In this way, Italy started a silk industry as early as
the 12th century.
In the period 1450-1466, Lyon became a major warehouse for
foreign silks, but these imports caused a harmful outflow of
capital, and in 1466 Louis XI declared his intention to
"introduce the art and craft of making gold and silk fabrics in
our city of Lyon".
Later, in 1536, François I gave Lyon the monopoly of silk
imports and trade, thus effectively creating the Lyon silk
industry.
The next significant event in the development of the silk
industry was the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. The
French Huguenots, again subject to religious persecution, fled
the country in large numbers. Many Huguenots were expert
throwsters and weavers, and they contributed in a very large
degree to the development of the silk industry in Germany, Great
Britain, Italy and Switzerland.
Throughout the 18th century, silk continued to prosper in
Europe, Japan and above all in China. European missionaries to
China reported that "even the simplest soldiers are dressed in
silk".
In 1804, Jacquard perfected the method of producing figured
fabrics, by the use of perforated cards. This was a revolution
in weaving techniques and gave a tremendous impetus to the
creating of the silk industry in Lyon and then in other European
countries. |
The 19th century is characterised by two
contradictory trends: increased mechanisation and the consequent
increase in productivity in the silk industry, on the one hand,
and on the other, the beginning of the decline of European
sericulture in the last quarter of the century. From 1872, and
the opening of the Suez Canal, raw silk imported from Japan
became more competitive, thanks also to Japan's progress in
reeling techniques. The rapid industrialisation of European
silk-producing countries, notably France, led to the transfer of
agricultural labour to the cities and towns. Diseases that
affected the silkworm, although overcome by Pasteur, made
silk-rearing a less reliable source of income. And the first
man-made fibres were beginning to make inroads into the markets
traditionally reserved for silk.
The early part of the 20th century, whereas European sericulture
continued its slow decline, the silk industry succeeded in
maintaining a strong position through its technical innovations
and the development of silk blended with other fibres.
The next major turning point was to be the Second World War.
Raw-silk supplies from Japan were cut off, and the new synthetic
fibres captured many of silk's markets, such as stockings and
parachutes. This interruption in silk activity in Europe and the
United States sounded the death-knell of European sericulture.
After the second world war, Japan restored her silk production, with vastly
improved reeling, inspection and classification of her raw silk.
Japan was to remain the world's biggest producer of raw silk,
and practically the only major exporter of raw silk, until the
1970s. Then China, thanks to a remarkable effort of organisation and planning, gradually re-captured her historic
position as the world's biggest producer and exporter of raw
silk. In 1985, world production of raw silk was about 56000
tonnes (the same as in 1938) of which over 50% were produced in
China.
The other major producers are Japan, India, the USSR, the
Republic of Korea and Brazil. Silk is still produced in smaller
quantities in many other countries, and several developing
countries are studying new sericultural projects. |
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| Is silk difficult to take care? What needs
to be done? |
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| Silk is amongst the most easy fabrics to take
care of. Also our fabric is produced keeping in mind your
cleaning requirements. Our fabric is built to last and last
well. However, as a rule, it is advisable to clean silk as
little as possible, because silk will lose its special sheen if
it is repeatedly or wrongly cleaned. Silk should only be dry
cleaned professionally. In the case of an emergency, we have,
however, added here some guidelines for keeping your silk clean
and special as only silk can be. |
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| Chemical: |
| Petroleum ether, turpentine, spirit of wine,
benzine, benzene, surgical spirit, acetone and methanol are all
flammable and must only be used in small quantities. |
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| Washing: |
| Wash only with very mild soaps and only in a
slow and tumble mode. |
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| Ironing: |
| Use regular iron boxes with usual instructions
for use on silks. Iron only after drying and hang to dry
indoors, never in direct sunlight. |
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| Stains: |
| Most stains will require expert help from a
professional fabric care specialist. |
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| Blends: |
| Care for blends on the same lines as pure
silks. |
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| Where can silk be used? |
| Silk can be used for draping, soft furnishings
and knit backed fabric for upholstery. |
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| What is the light fastness of silk? |
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| It is between 4 & 5. |
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