Camaj Fiber Arts - The Fine Side of Fiber

 

   For the Love of Silk

 

 

  I am absolutey smitten with silk fibers, the way they look, feel and spin.   They have a unique property all their own.  Silk can be spun to make a spectacular yarn all by itself or blended with other fibers to add a luxurious quality.

 

  Silk has a romantic, and often dangerous past, steeped deeply in tradition.  Silk has made the long journey from China to the West via the long, trecherous Silk Road some 2,000 years ago and made it's way to the US in the early 1600's.

 

  Though Americans tried to raise silk worms for commercial use they could not match up to the Chinese who had thousands of years of experience.  The Chinese continue to be the leaders in silk production producing almost two thirds of the worlds silk. 

  The other major producers of silk are India, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, and Brazil. United States is by far the largest importer of silk products to date.
 

  Silk fibers come in an array of natural colors that are absolutely stunning and the mulberry silk takes dyes like no other fiber I've worked with. 
 

 

 

 

 

Types of Silk

 

     Mulberry silk comes from the Bombyx mori silkworm who dines exclusively on Mulberry leaves. Mulberry silk worms are raised in captivity by worm farmers or sericulturists.  These cocoons are degummed (the removal of sericin...sericin is the "glue" that gives the cocoon its shape)  before the worm has a chance to move through the pupa phase. The pupa releases an enzyme that makes a hole in the cocoon for its escape.  These enzymes cause the silk to weaken and break.  That's the reason they degum the cocoon with the worm still in it.   This silk is lustrous and extremely soft with a micron of 10 to 15 and takes dyes beautifully.

 



 

 

    Eri silk , or  Ahishma silk,  comes from wild silk worms who dine exclusively on Cator plants.  Eri silk is often called "peace silk" because the moth is allowed to make a hole and escape the cocoon before it is degummed. Their enzyme does not destroy the silk like the mulberry silk worms.    This silk is creamy, smooth, has a very warm quality and is whiter in color than the mulberry silk.  The Red Eri has a natural brown/reddish tone.  The Eri silk is spun into yarn rather than reeled because it is not one continuous thread like the mulberry silk, which can often be a mile long. This give it a more "wooly" effect, but with the softness of silk.

  Muga Silk or the golden silk is one of the rarest silks.  These silk worms eat from the Som plant and are raised exclusively in the state of Assam.   Muga silk is a washable silk that gets more brilliant as it is washed.  Because it is less porous it cannot be dyed.  But who would want to dye a silk with such a beautiful, natural golden color.

 

 

  Tasar, tussar or Tussah Silk is a coarser silk mainly used for furnishings and interiors.  Tasar silk is made by the silkworm, Antheraea mylitta which mainly thrive on the food plants Asan and Arjun. 

 

 

  Silk is a very versatile fiber that can be spun into yarn, blended with other fibers, made into paper, felted with other feltable fibers and even used in soap making.  Give some silk a try and you'll fall in love too.

 

 

Click here to find out about silk in soap making

 

Want to learn how to spin silk? Click here

 

Try making some silk paper. Check it out 

 

Learn more about the history of silk

 

 

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