Silk is considered as a luxury fabric and learning how the fabric is made would leave one with a deeper understanding and appreciation for the fabric. Silk fabrics are made from only one species of silkworms, which is the Bombyx mori.
Harvesting Silk
The first stage in creating silk scarves includes harvesting the silk cocoons made by the silkworms. Normally it would take about twenty days to a month’s time for the caterpillar before it starts the pupa stage or where the caterpillar enters into its chrysalis. In this stage, the caterpillar spins liquid materials that form a silk cocoon. In the normal process, once the caterpillar reaches this stage, it will remain there until it emerges from the cocoon as a moth.
To prevent the cocoon from being destroyed, the cocoon is boiled or steamed to kill the pupae. It would take about two thousand cocoons to produce one pound of silk. The raw silks are then softened using heat making it easier to stretch the fiber. The silk is then twisted and weaved to create different types of threads for scarves, crepe, sheer cloth and yarns. Once the yarns are divided and woven into fabrics, dyes are added to the silk and other processes such as embossing or bleaching is done to create designs and preserve the quality of the silk.
Silk scarves are popular not only because of its luxurious feel but also because it is lightweight, strong and resilient and with proper care would last longer than other fabrics.
