Lemurian City of Ladies

Silk Facts

Posted in Lemurian Wisdom by prairiemuse on August 18th, 2006

Silk Facts from http://www.denverfabrics.com/pages/static/Silk/silk-fabric-facts.htm

* Chinese history credits the invention of silk fabric to Yuen Fei, the concubine of an Emperor who ruled in 2,600 B.C. Legend has it she dropped a cocoon into hot tea and it unraveled. She, by reason of the discovery, has been deified and is worshipped as the goddess of silk worms.

* The finest quality silk is made by mulberry silk moth, Bombyx mori, which, of course, feeds on mulberry leaves.

* The average cocoon contains 300-400 meters of silk.

* It takes about 5500 silkworms to produce 1 kg (2.2lb) of raw silk!

* One ounce of eggs produces about 20,000 worms, which consume a ton of mulberry leaves during their lifetime.

* Silk has been unearthed in the Qianshanyang Village of Huzhou in Zhejiang (China) and has been estimated to have been produced 4700 years ago!

* Early aircraft design utilizing silk stretched over a lightweight skeleton. Strength, durability and weight were critical characteristics that made silk the best choice.

* Dupioni Silk (also spelled Duppioni) is produced by reeling silk fibers from two silk worms that have spun one cocoon together and usually produces a rough yarn. Therefore, irregularity in sheerness or weight, sometimes referred to as bands or shadings, is characteristic of dupioni silk fabric. Black specks which occasionally appear in dupioni silk fabric are part of the original cocoon of the silk worm. Removing them would not only weaken the fabric but destroy part of its beauty and character. These characteristics are inherent to dupioni silk fabric and should not be considered as defects in weaving.

3 Responses to 'Silk Facts'

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  1. Lori said, on August 18th, 2006 at 11:08 pm

    These posts on silk are very informative, especially since Cyberia is on the Silk Road. I feel a story coming on related to this……. :)

  2. faucon said, on August 18th, 2006 at 11:17 pm

    Years ago I stumbled on some evidence (scant) about the importance of silk thread — a specially woven/braided uniform thread used for sewing other gaments than silk. Museum garments sewn with this outlast others for centuries. It is hypothisized that the Chinese gave the secret of making this to the Italians in return for a limitation of standard production. I wrote a Gusari story about this and posted on another blog — but can repeat — up to you’all

  3. prairiemuse said, on August 19th, 2006 at 12:18 am

    Faucon,
    I’d love to hear the Gusari story. Please post it.

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