What is silk made from? Production technology. How is natural silk produced? How is silk thread made?

It is not for nothing that silk is called the “king of fabrics”, because this fabric is very beautiful, has many advantages and can be used both in the production of clothing and accessories, and in interior design. What is silk made from and how difficult is it? Read the article below.

A little history

The production of this amazing fabric originated in Ancient China, and for a very long time the world did not know the secret of its production. The threat of death penalty hung over the person who decided to reveal this secret. Therefore, the price of the fabric was appropriate; few people could afford the purchase. In the Roman Empire, silk was worth its weight in gold! When did the Chinese learn to use silkworm threads to produce fine linen? No historian will give you the exact date. There is a legend that a caterpillar cocoon once fell into the empress's tea and turned into a thread of amazing beauty. Then the wife of the Yellow Emperor began breeding silkworm caterpillars.

Only in 550 AD. e. Byzantine Emperor Justinian managed to reveal the secret of what silk is made of. Two monks were sent to China on a secret mission. Returning two years later, they brought with them silkworm eggs. This is the end of the monopoly.

About silkworm caterpillars

Natural silk fabric today, as in ancient times, can be made only with the help of the best caterpillars. There are a great variety of butterflies in the silkworm family, but only caterpillars called Bombyx mori can produce the most expensive thread. This species does not exist in the wild, as it was created and raised artificially. They were bred for the sole purpose of laying eggs to raise silk-producing caterpillars.

They fly very poorly and see almost nothing, but they cope with the main task perfectly. The caterpillars live for several days, but manage to find a partner and lay up to 500 eggs. Around the tenth day, caterpillars emerge from the eggs. It takes about 6 thousand caterpillars to produce a kilogram of silk.

How do caterpillars produce silk thread?

We have already figured out what silk is made from, but how does it happen? How does the caterpillar produce such precious thread? The fact is that the hatched creatures spend 24 hours eating the leaves of the mulberry tree on which they live. In two weeks of life, they grow 70 times and molt several times. Having fed on the mass, the silkworms are ready to produce thread. The body becomes translucent, and the caterpillars crawl in search of a place to produce thread. At this point, they need to be placed in special boxes with cells. There they begin an important process - cocoons are made.

Digested leaves turn into fibroin, which accumulates in the glands of the caterpillar. Over time, the protein turns into a substance called sericin. In the mouth of the creatures there is a spinning organ; at the exit from it, two strands of fibroin are glued together with the help of sericin. It turns out one strong one that hardens in the air.

One caterpillar can spin a thread more than a thousand kilometers long in two days. To produce one silk scarf, more than a hundred cocoons are required, and for a traditional kimono - 9 thousand!

Silk production technology

When the cocoon is ready, it needs to be unwound (this is called cocooning). To begin with, the cocoons are collected and subjected to heat treatment. After this, low-quality threads are thrown away. The remaining threads are steamed in hot water to moisturize and soften. Then special brushes find the end, and the machine joins two or more threads (depending on the desired thickness). The raw material is rewound, and this is how it dries.

Why does the fabric turn out so smooth? The fact is that using a special technology, all sirocin is removed from it. The silk is boiled in a soap solution for several hours. Cheaper, untreated fabric is rough and difficult to dye. This is why chiffon is not so smooth.

Silk dyeing

The long journey of fabric production is not yet over, although it is nearing completion. After boiling the silk, there is another important step - dyeing. Smooth threads are easy to dye. The structure of fibroin allows the dye to penetrate deep into the fiber. This is why silk scarves retain their color for so long. The canvas contains positive and negative ions, which allows you to use any paint and get good results. Silk is dyed both in skeins and ready-made fabric.

To obtain a more shiny fabric and its rich color, silk is “revitalized,” that is, treated with vinegar essence. At the end of the journey, the canvas is once again doused with hot steam under pressure. This allows you to relieve the internal tension of the fibers. The process is called decatification.

Now you know what silk is made from and what a long journey it takes. It is mainly produced in China and India, but the trendsetters of “silk fashion” are France and Italy. Currently, there are many that resemble silk, but at a much lower price (viscose, nylon). However, no fabric can compete with natural silk!

Silk thread is a natural material made from fibers obtained from the cocoon of the silkworm. The domesticated butterfly of the “true silkworm” family became one of the most significant discoveries of its time and a breakthrough in spinning and weaving. This event occurred about 3000 years ago BC. The ancestral home of the domesticated representative of the valuable Lepidoptera was the regions of northern China and the south of the Primorsky Territory. From the geography of the distribution of the silkworm butterfly, it becomes clear that the Chinese were the first to benefit from the “taming” of the wild “representative” of this winged insect.

Some myths

People in China love stories. According to established legend, everything happened during the reign of the mythical Yellow Emperor. The eldest wife of the legendary ruler Huang Di, Lei Tzu introduced her people to the secrets of breeding caterpillars and twisting threads from the fibers of silkworm cocoons, for which she was nicknamed Xi-Ling-Chi - the mistress of silk worms, and later she was even elevated to the host of gods, making her a goddess sericulture In general, the very reign of the Yellow Emperor is a tangle of legends and myths, and the tendency of the ancient Chinese to attribute all important events to their rulers, and no one knows exactly how everything really happened. However, until now, in one of the provinces of China - Zhejian, in mid-spring - on April 5, a holiday fair is held with a visit to the statue of Empress Xi-Ling-Chi and the offering of gifts to her.

According to another, more everyday legend, women picking fruits from trees put white fruits, which were harder and, as it turned out, unsuitable for eating, in baskets along with ordinary ones. But women did not know this yet and were looking for a way to make “unusual fruits” edible. Having boiled them, they began to beat the “strange fruits” with sticks to soften them, but ultimately, instead of pulp, they got many, many thin threads - the white fruits turned out to be silkworm cocoons.

There are many other stories about the origins of silk thread production, but they are even more fantastic and more like fairy tales for children.

History of silk

In addition to legends, there are also historical facts about the beginning of the practical use of cocoon threads. Archaeological excavations have shown that the secrets of making silk fabric were known during the Neolithic culture.

During numerous excavations in various Chinese provinces, not only written references were discovered in the form of hieroglyphs with symbols of silk, mulberry and cocoon, but also the cocoons themselves and surviving fragments of silk products.

Until the unification of China into a single state in the third century BC, there were many independent fiefdoms on the territory of the Middle Kingdom. By the middle of the first millennium BC, about six states on the territory of present-day China already owned their own production of thread, fabric and products made from it.

United China jealously protected the secret of silk production and growing caterpillars for good reason - at one time it was the main source of income for both producers and the entire imperial house. The strictest ban was imposed not only on the production of silk, but also on the export of seeds and sprouts of the mulberry tree and the silkworm itself: larvae, caterpillars, cocoons. Any violation of this law was punishable by death.

In the second century BC. The Great Silk Road was built - a caravan road connecting East Asia with the Mediterranean. From the very name of this route, it becomes clear that the main product of the caravans from Asia was silk. For thousands of years, China remained the monopoly producer of this material. But already in 300 AD, Japan mastered the secret of breeding “silk worms” and producing threads from cocoons, and after it - in 522, Byzantium (with the help of two “curious” monks) and some of the Arab countries from which, subsequently , during the Crusades, the “silk secret” “leaks” to Europe.

How a silk thread is born

Today, silkworms are specially raised. There are many breeding varieties that differ not only in their ability to live and reproduce in different conditions, but also in the frequency of reproduction. Some species can produce offspring once a year, others - twice, and still others can produce several offspring in one year.

Butterfly (mulberry moth)

Domesticated representatives are kept in special farms, where the process begins with mating, after which the female moth lays eggs, from which the worst ones are discarded. During the mating season, moths of different sexes are placed in special bags, and at the end of the mating season, the female lays eggs for several days. Silkworms are quite prolific and can lay 300 to 600 eggs at a time.
The butterfly itself is quite large in size. An adult can reach a length of up to 6 centimeters with the same wingspan. Despite such impressive wings, domesticated moths are not able to fly. Their lifespan is only 12 days. Another interesting fact: the butterfly is not able to eat and throughout its butterfly life it is in a state of hunger due to the underdevelopment of the mouth and digestive organs.

Larvae and caterpillars

In order for larvae to emerge from the eggs, they are kept for 8-10 days at a certain air humidity and temperature - 24-25 °C. After the hairy, 3 mm larvae hatch, they are transferred to another, well-ventilated room, in special trays, where they begin to intensively feed on fresh mulberry leaves. Over the course of one month, the larva will molt 4 times and eventually develop into a large caterpillar (up to 8 cm in length and up to 1 cm in diameter) with a light pearl color and large jaws on a large head.
The most important organ of the caterpillar, which is why it is grown, is located under the lip. It has the appearance of a tubercle, from which a special liquid is released, which, when solidified, turns into a thin and strong thread - in the future, after certain manipulations, it will be turned into silk. The tubercle is the place where two silk-secreting glands meet; the fibroin thread secreted by them is glued in this place with the help of sericin (the natural glue of the caterpillar).

Pupation process (cocoon formation)

After the fourth molt and transformation from a larva into a caterpillar, the silkworm becomes less voracious. Gradually, the silk-secreting glands are completely filled, and the caterpillar begins to literally ooze it, continuously leaving behind a frozen secretion (fibroin) as it moves. At the same time, a noticeable change in its color occurs - it becomes translucent. What is happening indicates that the “silkworm” is entering the pupation phase. After this, it is transferred to a tray with small cocoon pegs, on which the silkworm settles and begins to spin its cocoon with a quick movement of its head, releasing up to 3 cm of thread per turn. Cocoons, depending on the type of silkworm, can have different shapes: round, elongated, oval. Their sizes vary from 1 to 6 cm. The color of the cocoon can be white, golden, and sometimes purple. The length of the thread used to create a cocoon can be from 800 m to 1500 m, thickness 0.011-0.012 mm (for example: human hair has a diameter of 0.04 - 0.12 mm).

Interesting fact: male cocoons have a denser structure and are of better quality.

Formation of silk thread from a cocoon

After many cocoons have appeared on the trays, they are collected and subjected to heat treatment, thereby killing the caterpillar inside to prevent the butterfly from hatching. During this process, more sorting and rejection is carried out. The cocoons remaining after sorting are subjected to softening and tousling, as well as the initial removal of impurities, by boiling them for several hours in a boiling soap solution or steaming them with steam. Following boiling or steaming, the cocoons are left to soak for some time. During the necessary procedures described above, the sericin (sticky substance) is washed out and impurities are removed, after which the multi-stage process of thread formation begins.

Silk cocoon fiber, at the initial stage of processing, consists of many elements, including: fibroin (protein) - up to 75% of the total weight, sericin (silk viscous, protein glue) - up to 23%, as well as wax, minerals and some from fats. In addition to the main ones (fibroin and sericin), there are about 18 more components.

Then, using a brush, the ends of the fiber are found and, depending on what the subsequent thickness of the silk thread should be, one or another number of cocoons are left. On average, it takes about 5,000 silkworm cocoons and 36 hours of winding to form one kilogram of fabric. For clarity of the described process, we recommend watching the following video, which shows a non-industrial, artisanal production method:

Preparatory work before bleaching and dyeing threads

As a rule, before dyeing or bleaching natural silk, it is first subjected to heat treatment in a special solution that removes residual sericin. The ingredients for a one-liter solution can be:

• 40% oleic soap – 3.6 g;
• soda ash – 0.25 g.

Threads are dipped into the prepared solution and boiled at a temperature of 95 ° C for half an hour, followed by thorough washing to wash out the remaining components for subsequent uniform dyeing. Composition of flushing liquid per liter of water:

• sodium hexametaphosphate – 0.5 g;
• ammonia – 0.5 ml.

Washing occurs at a temperature of 70 °C.

After the washing is completed, the threads are rinsed in non-hot water. The optimal temperature of the rinsed liquid is 50-55 °C.

Whitening

To get snow-white silk, it must be bleached. For bleaching, an alkaline solution is used, the main ingredient of which is ordinary hydrogen peroxide. The prepared raw materials are soaked, with periodic stirring, for 9-13 hours in a solution of water and peroxide heated to 70 °C.

Coloring

The dyeing process is no less labor-intensive. The main components in it can be both natural dyes and their chemical analogues. Before painting, the raw materials are pre-etched with a 1% solution using metal salts. As a rule, the following are used as etching substances:

• potassium alum;
• inkstone;
• copper sulfate;
• chromium-potassium alum;
• chrompeak;
• tin chloride.

Before immersion in the pickling bath, the raw materials are soaked in water. After finishing the cold mordant, which lasts about 24 hours, the threads are also rinsed and dried. Silk is ready for dyeing.

There are many methods of coloring, some of which are still unknown to the general public, as they are the know-how of one or another master.

For those who want to practice dyeing silk in the microwave, we recommend watching this video:

Revival

To add shine and richness to the colors, the raw materials are treated with the essence of acetic acid.

Decatation

And finally, silk threads are treated with high-pressure steam for several minutes, this process is called decatification, its necessity is due to the removal of structural stress inside the threads themselves.

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Production of natural silk is a very labor-intensive, but also the most amazing process in the modern textile industry. The technology invented in ancient times has remained virtually unchanged to this day.

For natural silk production today, like 4000 years ago, they use the thread of the cocoon of the silkworm, which is also called the “silkworm”. Fabric produced with the help of the silkworm is the most expensive and widespread in the world.
Produce silk first started in China, and for a long time the specifics of production were kept a great secret. And to this day, China holds a leading position in the world market for silk production.

Modern production includes not only the process of obtaining silk thread, but also the breeding of silkworms. In a relatively short life, one caterpillar can produce several thousand meters of valuable silk thread, and the percentage of defects in such production is negligible.

The adult silkworm is a thick butterfly with whitish wings. Insects feed exclusively on the foliage of the mulberry tree, or mulberry. In early spring or summer, the butterfly lays eggs, which are stored until the following spring. As soon as leaves appear on the mulberry trees, the eggs are placed in specialized incubators, where the temperature gradually increases. Then the caterpillar appears, and the insect remains in this stage for 21 to 34 days.

The caterpillars are constantly in the process of eating leaves, and accordingly they grow quite quickly, increasing their weight by 10-12 thousand times. As soon as the insect's head darkens, this means that the insect begins to molt. After four molts, the caterpillar's body turns yellow, the skin becomes denser, and the silk-secreting glands are filled with protein fluid. The caterpillar is placed on special devices - cocoons, releases a thin thread and weaves a cocoon from it, wrapping itself around itself - this is how the transformation into a pupa begins. After about two weeks, the pupa becomes a butterfly.

In order to free itself from the cocoon, the butterfly secretes an alkaline liquid that dissolves the cocoon threads. However, the cocoon should not be damaged, otherwise holes may appear in the shells, and such cocoons are quite difficult to unwind. Therefore, cocoons are specially treated with hot air or kept for several hours at a high temperature of about 100 °C, as a result of which the caterpillar dies and the cocoon easily unwinds. The cocoons are then dried and sorted. Thin silk threads consist of two silks, which are glued together with the substance sericin. In order to obtain a denser and stronger thread, when unwinding, the threads from several cocoons are connected, while sericin firmly glues the threads to each other. The resulting threads are carefully sorted, laid and woven into a single fabric.

Although natural silk production is a labor-intensive process, this technology and the high price of the material are fully justified due to its unique properties. Thus, natural silk has the ability to instantly regulate temperature, silk products are also well ventilated, do not accumulate static electricity, the fabric is very elastic and durable.

Video - how silk is produced:

Natural silk is one of the most luxurious materials for tailoring. Silk fabrics have a rich thousand-year history. Archaeological finds confirm that the estimated beginning of silk production was about 5 thousand years ago. There are many different and interesting legends about the origin of the first silk threads.

When and where did the discovery of silk take place? Researchers unanimously say - in China. It was here that fragments of silk were found in burials. In China, they mastered the art of silk ornamentation, producing extraordinary fabric with colored patterns. Silk fabrics were already diverse back then. Among them were brocade, dense one-color patterned silk, and the finest silk gauze. The ornaments reflected ideas about life, nature and happiness.

Natural silk - the history of the origin of the fabric

Legends tell that one of the Chinese women happened to see a beautiful sparkling thread being separated from a cocoon that accidentally fell into hot water. And another Chinese woman, whose name is known - (2640 BC), wanted to grow a mulberry tree.

She grew the tree, but while she was growing it, another person became interested in it - a butterfly, or, more simply, a moth. The butterfly began to feed on the fresh leaves of the young tree and immediately laid grenas on its leaves - small eggs, from which caterpillars soon appeared.

Other legends say that the empress was drinking tea in the garden, and a cocoon fell from a tree into her cup. When she tried to remove it, she saw that a beautiful shiny thread was trailing behind it. Be that as it may, in China to this day silk is called “si”, after the name of the empress. In gratitude for the discovery of silk, she was elevated to the rank of deity of the Celestial Empire, and her memory is celebrated annually.

What happened next after the caterpillars appeared? In an effort to become a butterfly, they begin to create a cozy home for themselves - a cocoon from the finest silk thread, or rather from two threads at once, entwining themselves with them and becoming pupae. Then they are reborn into a butterfly, waiting in the wings to fly to freedom. And everything repeats itself.

The Chinese realized what an important factor in the economic life of the country silk thread could become. Subsequently, cocoons and silk became a means of exchange in ancient China, i.e. a kind of monetary unit.

Silk was used to make clothing, religious jewelry, and for the imperial house and its entourage. Caravans from all countries coming to China exchanged their goods for priceless fabric. China prospered. For further prosperity, it was necessary to keep the secret of silk production secret. Everyone knew what it meant to spread a secret, death under torture.

Many centuries later, the secret was finally revealed. The secret of silk was smuggled first to Korea, then to Japan. The Japanese realized the importance of the new industry and gradually reached a level that for many years created the country's global power.

Then came India. Again, Chinese legend tells us that silk moth eggs and mulberry seeds were brought to India by a Chinese princess. This was around 400 AD. brought these valuables in her headdress. Perhaps this was true. One way or another, in India, in the valley of the Brahmaputra River, they began to develop sericulture.

Later, natural silk traveled through Persia to Central Asia and further to Europe. The Greeks were among the first to become acquainted with beautiful silk fabric. The philosopher Aristotle in his book “History of Animals” describes the mulberry caterpillar. The Romans also admired this fabric, and they especially valued purple silk.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, textile production moved to Constantinople. Moth eggs and mulberry seeds were brought here with the assistance of Emperor Justinian in a hollow bamboo reed. The Western world also obtained raw materials for silk production through smuggling, and Byzantine silk production gained worldwide fame.

The early prelates of the Catholic Church were among the first to wear silk clothes in Europe. Their clothing and altar decorations were made of priceless fabric. The medieval nobility looked at all this with envy. Soon judges and aristocrats began to dress in silk. But for a long time, silk remained a treasure, for one kilogram of which they were ready to give a kilogram of gold.

Warriors of the Western world brought fabric for their wives and lovers from the defeated East. In ancient times, silk attracted attention not only for its beauty. It was believed that delicate, luxurious fabric healed a person from many diseases when it came into contact with the body.

The Chinese also excelled in fabric ornamentation. And when silk craftsmanship spread to Africa, Egypt, Spain and throughout the world, Islamic culture somewhat changed the design of the precious fabric. Many patterns and images were abandoned, but instead of human figures, decorative compositions and inscriptions appeared.

The first silk factory was built in Turin, and this business was encouraged in cities such as Florence, Milan, Genoa, and Venice.

In the Middle Ages, silk production became one of the main industries - in Venice - in the 13th century, in Genoa and Florence - in the 14th century, in Milan - in the 15th century, and in the 17th century France became one of the leaders in Europe.

But already in the 18th century, silk production was established throughout Western Europe.

How are silk threads created?

Despite the capriciousness and whimsicality of care, silk products are extremely popular. Silk fiber is a secretion product of silkworm caterpillars. Silkworms are specially bred in sericulture farms. There are four stages in the development of the silkworm: egg, caterpillar, pupa, and butterfly.

Protein metabolism takes place in the caterpillar's body. The proteins of the mulberry leaves, under the influence of enzymes in the caterpillar's digestive juice, break down into individual amino acids, which in turn are absorbed by the caterpillar's body. Next, the transformation of some amino acids into others occurs.

Thus, by the time of pupation, a liquid substance consisting of various amino acids necessary for the creation of silk - fibroin and silk glue - sericin accumulates in the body of the caterpillar. At the moment of cocoon formation, the caterpillar secretes two thin silks through special ducts. At the same time, sericin is also released, i.e. glue that sticks them together.

The caterpillars that emerge from the testicles are no larger than 2 mm in size; after 4-5 weeks they reach 3 cm. The process of creating a cocoon takes 4-6 days, while the caterpillar, as scientists have calculated, must shake its head 24 thousand times to build its dollhouse. This is how the silkworm transforms into a pupa.

Together with the pupa, the cocoon weighs 2–3 grams. Then, after about two weeks, the transformation into a butterfly occurs, which is as inconspicuous as a moth.

But turning into a butterfly in silk production cannot be allowed, since it, trying to break free, will spoil the integrity of the silk thread. What are they doing? The cocoons are fried in an oven, then treated in a chemical solution, sometimes in ordinary boiling water. This is done so that the sticky substance evaporates and the cocoon collapses and disintegrates into threads.

These caterpillars are not only the creators of silk, but also served as the prototype of spinnerets - mechanisms for forming artificial silk thread. If you carefully observe the phenomena occurring in nature, you can discover a lot for yourself, and you can’t imagine anything better than nature.

Currently, in addition to China, many countries are engaged in silk production: India, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Brazil and many others.

Features of natural silk production

Sericulture is a very delicate industry. It consists of several stages:

1. Obtaining silkworm cocoons. A female silk butterfly lays approximately 500 eggs. They are sorted, leaving only healthy ones. After 7 days, small silkworm caterpillars appear, which are fed with mulberry leaves, having previously been selected and crushed. Then the caterpillars begin to spin cocoons-houses. This happens for several days until they completely twist themselves. After which they are again sorted by color, shape, size.

2. Unwinding of cocoons. The pupa is killed so that it does not have time to hatch and damage the cocoon. The cocoon is then immersed in boiling water to dissolve the sticky substance and separate the threads.

3. Creation of silk threads. One cocoon can produce up to 1000 m of thread. Up to 5-8 threads are twisted into one fiber, resulting in a fairly long silk thread. This produces raw silk, which is then wound into skeins. And again they are sorted and processed until better density and uniformity. Now you can send it to the weaving factory.

4. Fabric making. The yarn is soaked and processed and dyed again. Now the weaving begins, using various weaves.

Types and properties of silk fabrics

Properties of silk. Silk is a soft and durable material, distinguished by its shine and smoothness, but at the same time it has its own difficult character, it is capricious and demanding to care for. Delicate flowing fabric does not like ironing and is susceptible to moth attacks.

Silk thread is elastic. It is elastic, shiny and paints well. Why are silk fabrics different? This is due to the type of insect and plant leaves that the caterpillars fed on. The thinnest silk is made from three silk threads (three cocoons), and ordinary fabric is made from eight to ten cocoons.

The silkworm produces fiber for satin, taffeta, satin, chiffon, and organza. More dense fabrics - tassar, maga, eri - are made from fibers of “Indian” caterpillars that feed on the leaves of castor, oak and polyantas trees.

Silk threads come in different types. It all depends on the country where the silkworm caterpillars were raised, the conditions (natural or artificial), as well as the leaves they were fed with - mulberry, oak, castor (castor bean) and others.

All this determines the characteristics of the future fabric. Different types of weaves also create different types of fabrics, differing in properties, appearance and other parameters.

Popular types of silk fabrics with different thread weaves are:

Toilet silk. Natural silk fabric with plain weave. It has a soft shine, is quite dense, holds its shape well, and therefore is suitable for ties, dresses and linings.

Atlas. This is a satin weave silk fabric. It is dense, smooth and shiny on the front side, quite soft, and drapes well. Used for sewing clothes and shoes, as well as for decorative upholstery.

Silk-satin. This is a satin weave fabric. The fabric is smooth, silky on the front side, dense and shiny. Dresses, blouses, skirts and men's shirts are made from this fabric.

Crepe. The fabric is made from threads with a high twist, which is called crepe, and is distinguished by its roughness and slight shine. Crepe combines several types of fabrics: crepe satin, crepe chiffon, crepe de chine, crepe georgette. These fabrics drape well and are used for sewing dresses and suits.

Chiffon. Plain weave silk fabric. Very soft and thin fabric, matte, slightly rough, transparent, drapes well. Beautiful dresses intended for special occasions are made from this fabric.

Organza. A fabric that is stiff, thin and transparent. It is smooth and shiny and holds its shape well. Dresses are sewn from it as wedding attire, and used for decorative decoration - flowers, bows.

Gas. The fabric has a gauzy weave. The main properties can be called lightness, transparency, which is achieved by a large space between its threads, holds its shape well, and does not have shine. More often used for decorative decoration, for wedding dresses.

Chesucha (wild silk). The fabric is dense, with an interesting texture, which is formed using threads of unequal thickness. The material is durable, soft, with a slight shine, drapes well, and is used for curtains and various clothes.

Silk DuPont. The fabric is very dense, one might say rigid, with a soft shine. Used for sewing curtains. Indian DuPont is especially prized. In addition to curtains, wedding and evening dresses, various accessories and expensive bed linen are made from it.

Taffeta. Taffeta can be made not only from cotton, but also from silk fabric. It is distinguished by its high quality, thanks to tightly twisted silk threads. When sewing, it forms folds that give the product volume and fluffiness. It is used to make curtains, outerwear and evening dresses.

In addition to those mentioned, there are other types of silk fabrics, for example, crepe georgette, crepe de Chine, silk epontage, muslin, brocade, excelsior, charmeuse, twill, silk cambric, foulard.

Proper care of clothes made of natural silk

Silk, as already said, is a fabric with character, and therefore requires careful treatment.

1. Natural silk is essentially a protein similar to the human epidermis, and therefore does not tolerate high temperatures. Wash in water no higher than 30 degrees.
2. Use special detergents intended for silk products. Alkaline powders can damage delicate items.
3. If you use hand washing, do not excessively wrinkle or rub the product - this can ruin the structure of the fabric.
4. If you wash it in a machine, you should do it only in the “Silk” or “Delicate Wash” mode.
5. Bleaching is not recommended - the fabric will not only wear out quickly, but will also turn yellow.
6. Fabric softeners should not be used.
7. The last rinse is best done in cold water with vinegar added. This will rid the fabric of alkaline residues.
8. Do not twist the product too much, dry it in a machine drum or dry it in the sun.
9. Iron from the inside out using the “Silk” setting.
10. Do not allow deodorants, perfumes, hairspray or other substances that contain alcohol to come into contact with silk products. In addition, sweat also spoils silk.
11. Silk products are best dry cleaned.

Anyone can raise silkworms if they wish. You must have a utility room and a mulberry tree. The silkworm is the most useful insect for humans after the bee. But, unlike bees, this butterfly finds it difficult to survive without the constant care of people.

When the secret of silk production became the property of Japan, and the Japanese prince Sue Tok Daishi left an interesting testament to his people regarding silkworm breeding and silk production:

“...Be as attentive and gentle to your silkworms as a father and mother is to their suckling child...let your own body serve as a measure in the changes of cold and heat. Keep the temperature in your homes even and healthy; Keep the air clean and constantly bring all your care into your work, day and night...”

And so, natural silk is obtained from the cocoon of a silkworm caterpillar. But there are also artificial and synthetic types of silk fabrics. All of them have the unique properties of natural silk: shine, smoothness and strength.

Nowadays, silkworm breeding continues throughout the world, especially in Southeast Asia.

Natural silk from the Crimean peninsula

I would like to remind you that Crimean silk has always competed with eastern silk. Sericulture was once developed on the peninsula. The Crimean Tatars bred silkworms and were engaged in the production of silk; they were fluent in this craft, and even made silk clothes.

The glory of Crimean silks was known throughout the world. Once upon a time, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi wore a sari made from the famous Crimean silk on all her trips abroad. And today there are still those skilled craftsmen with whose help it is possible to create a powerful silkworm production.

If silk production is established in Crimea, then in a short time the glory of the peninsula will once again resound throughout the world, and Crimean silk will become a reliable source of income for the residents of Crimea.

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The first silk fabrics were very rare and expensive, so they were worn only by rulers and their family members. In all likelihood, inside the palace they dressed in white clothes, and on ceremonial occasions - in. With the expansion of production, silk gradually became available to the court and then to wider sections of the population.

Gradually, a real cult of silk arose in China. Old Chinese texts mention sacrifices to the Silkworm God, as well as sacred mulberry groves and the veneration of individual mulberry trees.

Already in the era of the Warring States (475-221 BC), silk and silk products spread everywhere in China to almost all segments of the population. Mencius (372-289 BC), “The Second Perfectly Wise One,” proposed planting mulberry trees along the perimeter of “well fields” so that young and old would wear silk clothes.

Silk was widely used in the economy. In addition to being used as fabric for clothing and embroidery, it was used to make strings for musical instruments, bow strings, fishing lines and even paper. During the reign of the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), silk became a kind of universal monetary equivalent: peasants paid taxes in grain and silk, and the state also paid officials in silk.

The value of silk was calculated based on its length and was equal to gold. Silk became, in fact, a currency used in settlements with other countries. The important role of silk in Chinese culture is evidenced by the fact that out of the 5 thousand most commonly used, about 230 have the key “silk”.

Technologies of sericulture, embroidery, and fabric dyeing were rapidly improved. This continued until the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

The volume and quality of silk products gradually increased. The brightness of the colors, the richness and perfection of the embroidery were amazing. From the 2nd century BC. foreign trade was established - the famous Silk Road. A key role in this process was played by Zhang Qian 张骞 (?-114 BC), a Chinese diplomat and traveler who opened the countries of Central Asia to China and Chinese trade. Along caravan routes, some of which existed before, caravans loaded with Chinese goods set off for the West.

However, a number of historical and archaeological facts indicate that other countries learned about Chinese silk much earlier. Thus, in one of the Egyptian villages near Thebes and in the Valley of the Kings, female mummies were discovered wrapped in silk fabrics dating back to the 11th century. BC. This is probably the earliest discovery.

After the reign of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), special weaving workshops were founded, initially producing ceremonial headdresses, and later multi-colored silk fabrics. Fabrics were dyed with plant dyes: flowers, leaves, bark, and plant roots. The main weaving centers were located in the modern provinces of Henan, Hebei, Shandong and Sichuan. The Tang era was a time of intense silk trade; it was found in the territory of modern Xinjiang, Turfan, Tajikistan and even in the North Caucasus.

The Greeks and Romans called China the “Land of Silk” - Serika. Silk was extremely popular among the nobility. It was extremely expensive, but nevertheless, people willingly bought it. The price could reach up to 300 denarii - the salary of a Roman legionnaire for a whole year! The import of silk had already begun to threaten the very economy of the Roman Empire. In 380, the Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus (c. 330-after 395) wrote that "the use of silk, which was once limited only to the nobles, has now spread to all classes without distinction, even to the lowest".

The barbarians were also captivated by this amazing material. The Goth Alaric, who captured Rome in 409, demanded, among other things, 4,000 silk tunics.

However, the mystery of making silk remained unsolved for a long time. Many fantastic explanations have been proposed. Thus, Virgil (1st century BC), for example, believed that silk was made from fleece from leaves. The Greek historian Dionysius (1st century BC) believed that silk was made from flowers. It was suggested that shiny silk threads grew on trees, or that it was created by huge beetles, or that it was made from the down of birds. Roman historian of the 4th century. Ammianus Marcellinus provided this explanation: “Silk fabrics are made from soil. Chinese soil is soft as wool. After watering and special processing, it can be used to form silk threads.".

The Chinese zealously guarded the secret of silk production. Anyone who tried to transfer silkworm eggs, larvae, or cocoons abroad was executed. However, in Korea, and then in Japan, they learned the secret of silk production. It is believed that to Korea around the 2nd century. BC. it was brought by the Chinese themselves, who emigrated there. Silk appeared on the Japanese Islands in the 3rd AD. Then, in the 4th century, silk production was established in India.

There are several legends telling how silk manufacturing technology became known in other countries. One of them agrees that the Chinese princess was engaged to the prince of Khotan. Her groom wanted his bride to bring with her mulberry seeds and silkworm larvae. According to another version, the princess herself wanted to bring them to her new homeland. She hid the seeds and larvae in her bouffant hairstyle and took them outside of China. This happened around 440. And from there the secret of silk production spread throughout the world.

According to another half-legend, half-history, the secret was revealed by two Nestorian monks. Around 550, they secretly brought silkworm eggs and mulberry seeds in their hollow bamboo staves to the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (483-565).

Thus, Byzantium became the first country entering the Western world where its own sericulture appeared. The church and the state created their own silk workshops, monopolizing production and zealously guarding the secret of its production. In the 6th century, the Persians mastered the art of silk weaving and created their own masterpieces.

Catholic prelates wore rich silk robes and decorated altars with them. Gradually, the fashion for silk spread among the nobility. In the 8th-9th centuries, silk began to be produced in Spain, and four centuries later, silk was successfully produced by the cities of the Apennine Peninsula, several cities of which gave their names to the fabrics. It is believed that Italian silk originates from two thousand skilled craftswomen exported to Italy from Constantinople in the 13th century.

Today silk is produced in many countries of the world: China, Italy, India, Spain, France. But China is still the largest exporter of raw silk and silk products on the world market.

Silk production technology

For centuries, silk remained a luxury product for most countries of the world, for which people paid their last money. Silk production is a very long and painstaking process that requires constant attention. Currently, a number of procedures are automated.

Over the centuries, sericulture has developed and improved, becoming an exact science. But even now the technology for producing silk is based on old methods.

Silk is obtained from the cocoons of silk moths. There are many varieties of wild silk moth. But only one of them became the ancestor of the famous Bombyx mori- a blind, wingless moth, from which the best silk is obtained. It is believed that it originated from Bombyx mandarina mori- a wild silk moth that lives on white mulberry trees only in China. Through selective breeding, she has lost her ability to fly and can only eat, mate, produce offspring, and produce silk fibers.

In addition, there is another type of moth in nature - Antheraea mylitta, also producing silk fiber, but coarser. The threads obtained from it are called tussah.

Female Bombyx mori, hatching from the cocoon, mates with the male. After this, within 4-6 days she lays up to 500 or more eggs, and soon after that she dies. Only healthy eggs are selected for further use. They are sorted and tested for infection. Sick eggs are burned. Silkworm eggs are very small and light - the weight of a hundred barely reaches 1 gram. They are kept at a temperature of about 18 degrees Celsius, gradually increasing it to 25 degrees Celsius.

Around the seventh day, small worms hatch, the size of which does not exceed 2 mm. It is this larval stage of the moth that is actually called the silkworm. Then, throughout the month, the silkworms constantly eat, increasing their weight and size. So, at the age of 4-5 weeks their length reaches 3 cm or more, and during this time their weight increases thousands of times!

They feed exclusively on mulberry leaves, which are collected and selected for them by hand, and then crushed. Feeding occurs regularly, day and night. During this time, thousands of feeding worms are kept in special trays that are placed one on top of the other.

The room where the worms are kept is maintained at a constant temperature and humidity. They must be protected from any fluctuations in the external environment, such as: loud sounds, drafts, strong odors of food and even sweat. The thousands of jaws crushing the mulberry leaves produce a constant hum, reminiscent of the sound of heavy rain drumming on a roof. During this time, the worms molt several times, gradually changing their color from gray to pale pink.

Finally, the time comes to spin a cocoon. The silkworm begins to worry, shaking its head back and forth. The caterpillars are placed in separate compartments. With the help of two special glands - spinnerets - the worms begin to produce a gelatinous substance that hardens upon contact with air. The substance that silkworms produce includes two main components. The first is fibroin, an insoluble protein fiber that accounts for 75-90% of production. The second is sericin, an adhesive substance designed to hold the cocoon fibers together. In addition to them, there are also fats, salts, and wax.

In three to four days, silkworms spin a cocoon around themselves, placing themselves inside it. They look like white fluffy elongated balls. At this time, the cocoons are sorted by color, size, shape, etc.

Then another 8-9 days pass, and the cocoons are ready to unwind. If you miss time, the pupa will turn into a moth and break through the cocoon, damaging the integrity of the thread. Therefore, the pupa must first be killed. To do this, it is subjected to heat, after which the cocoon is immersed in hot water to dissolve the adhesive substance sericin, which holds the threads together. At this moment, only a small part of it is removed, about 1%, but this is enough to allow the thread to be unwound.

After this, they find the end of the thread, pass it through the porcelain eye and carefully begin to unwind it, winding it onto the bobbin. Each cocoon produces a thread, on average, from 600 to 900 meters in length, and individual individuals - up to 1000 meters or more!

Then 5-8 threads are twisted together to make one thread. When one of the threads ends, a new one is twisted to it, and thus a very long thread is formed. Sericin promotes the adhesion of one thread to another. The resulting product is raw silk, wound into skeins of yarn. Currently this process is automated.

Skeins of raw silk yarn are sorted by color, size and other characteristics. Then the silk threads are twisted again to achieve a uniform structure and density. At this stage, you can also twist different yarns to create different fabric textures. Next, the threads are passed through special rollers. After this, the yarn goes to the weaving factory.

Here the yarn is soaked again in warm soapy water. Refining occurs, as a result of which the weight of the yarn is reduced by approximately 25%. The yarn then turns a creamy white color and can then be dyed and further processed. Only after this can you start making fabric.

Silk fibers that were not used for spinning threads, for example, from destroyed cocoons, torn ends, etc., can also be twisted into threads, like those obtained from cotton or flax. This silk is of lower quality and tends to be weak and frayed. It can be used, for example, to make a silk blanket.

Interesting statistics: on average, 111 cocoons are required for silk for a man's tie, and 630 for silk for sewing a woman's blouse!

Despite the fact that many artificial fibers have now appeared - polyester, nylon, etc., none of them can compare in quality with real silk. Silk fabrics keep you warm in cool weather and cool in hot weather; they are pleasant to the touch and pleasing to the eye. In addition, silk thread is stronger than steel thread of the same diameter!

In conclusion, a short poem about the difficulties of breeding silkworms:

养蚕词
Yăng can cí
Songs about feeding silkworms

作者：缪嗣寅
Zuòzhě: Miào Sìyín

蚕初生，
Can chū shēng
[When] the silkworm is born,

采桑陌上提筐行；
Cǎi sāng mò shàng tí kuāng xíng
I collect mulberry leaves and walk along the boundary with a basket;

蚕欲老，
Cán yù lǎo
[When] the silkworm caterpillar is about to mature,

夜半不眠常起早。
Yèbàn bù mián cháng qǐ zǎo
I don’t sleep late at night and often get up early in the morning.

衣不暇浣发不簪，
Yī bù xiá huàn fà bù zān
I don’t have time to wash my clothes and I don’t style my hair,

还恐天阴坏我蚕。
Hái kǒng tiān yīn huài wǒ cán
I'm also afraid that rainy weather will spoil my silkworms.

回头吩咐小儿女，
Huítóu fēnfù xiǎo nǚ’er
Looking around, I teach my little daughter,

蚕欲上山莫言语。
Cán yù shàng shān mò yányŭ
[When] the silkworm caterpillars are about to rise up [to secrete silk], don't you dare talk!

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