SMOOTH
'N' SILKY: THE MANY TYPES OF SILK
Silk
is commonly referred to as the queen of textiles, and it has always occupied pride
of place in the textile world ever since it was discovered nearly 5000 years ago
in ancient China. What makes silk so attractive, apart from its strength and beauty,
is the various forms into which it can be transformed. At Trim Fabric, we sell
a wide range of silk fabrics, so why don't you just go through our silk fabrics
inventory? Besides, we offer you a great chance to increase your knowledge of
silk in many of its forms!
Silk Chiffon:
Chiffon (from the French chiffe, or old rag) is a sheer fabric with a slightly
coarse feel. It can be derived from cotton, silk or synthetic fibers, but has
traditionally been associated with silk. The advantage with silk chiffon is that
it can be dyed almost any shade, whereas polyester chiffon is difficult to dye.
Silk chiffon is the fabric of choice when it comes to such garments as blouses,
scarves and lingerie, but because of its fragile structure, it is an extremely
difficult material to work with and should always be hand washed, because the
rough and tumble of a washing machine can rip a silk chiffon garment to shreds.
Silk Organza: Like silk chiffon, silk
organza is a diaphanous fabric in plain weave, but it is crisp where chiffon is
soft. The crispness in silk organza is a result of the natural gum that remains
on silk fibers after processing. The fabric is ideal for such garments as bridal
gowns with an overlay, because it is stiff enough to stand out yet flexible enough
not to add too much extra mass to the gown. For the same reason, silk organza
is a perennial favorite when it comes to party dresses for little girls!
Silk
Georgette: Silk georgette is yet another sheer lightweight fabric,
once again made of silk or polyester, though it is slightly heavier and less sheer
than chiffon. The twisted crêpe fibers from which silk georgette is made give
it a springy and flexible texture which in turn makes it difficult to sew. However,
the sophisticated look of the fabric makes it ideal for evening gowns, formal
wear, and scarves.
Silk Dupioni: The
characteristic features of silk dupioni are its 'slubs', or knobby, horizontal
lines incorporated in the weave. This is a versatile fabric that is particularly
suited to shot colors, or a blending of two different colors that causes the material
to look different under different lights. Silk dupioni is typically hand woven
and colored using organic dyes. Because it has a tendency to shrink, silk dupioni
should be washed before tailoring. Make sure you hand wash all silk dupioni garments,
because this softens the material, while machine wash takes its gloss off. One
of the greatest things about silk dupioni is that it hardly ever wrinkles and
holds embroidery very well, so it is a great material for evening gowns, jackets,
suits, and skirts. It is also fairly inexpensive, and is durable. However, silk
dupioni doesn't work for tight-fitting garments because it pulls apart owing to
the weave.
Silk Brocade: This material
is obtained through a process whereby raw silk is first twisted, and its threads
reeled and checked for uniformity. After processing, the yarn is bleached and
the natural gum removed to bring out the yarn's sheen. The silk is then boiled
in soap water and dyed. Silk brocade is heavily dependant on he right color to
bring out its beauty. In India, where silk brocade is widely converted into saris
and other garments, silk brocade embroidery also plays a major role. Silk brocade
typically lends itself to stylish and elegant garments, as well as high-quality
drapery and upholstery.
Silk Embroidery:
Silk embroidery was originally an Oriental wall art created by ancient Chinese
artisans who pulled fine threads of colored silk through a canvas to create lovely
patterns. Silk embroidered pieces are thus ideal as gifts, collectibles, and souvenirs.
In the West, silk embroidery artisans typically use fine silk strands to skillfully
reproduce famous oil paintings like those of Vincent van Gogh and Leonardo da
Vinci. It is painstaking, detailed work, and the colors can be truly splendid.
Another kind of silk embroidery is double-sided silk embroidery, in which both
sides of a transparent silk canvas are embroidered.
Silk
Charmeuse: Charmeuse is made with a satin weave that is soft and drapes
well. The fabric incorporates a satin weave, whereby the warp threads cross over
three or more of the backing threads, so that the front of the fabric displays
a glossy satin finish. Silk charmeuse is ideal for loose-fitting garments like
gowns and dresses and lingerie, but is difficult to sew because of its slippery
nature. Like most silk derivatives, it tears easily; so it is best to hand wash
it gently or best, to dry clean it.
Silk Velvet:
Velvet can be made from any fiber, but it has traditionally been associated with
silk. Silk velvet is produced on a special loom that can weave two pieces of velvet
at the same time. The gloss of velvet and its excellent fall made it suitable
for official robes and luxurious draperies. In medieval times, the most popular
silk velvet was made in Italy, but during World War II, when silk became scarce,
manufacturers began producing velvet from cotton and synthetic fibers. Today,
most silk velvet fabric tends to be a blend of silk and rayon and a pure silk
velvet fabric would be rare and expensive.
Crêpe
de Chine: This is a silk fabric of a gauzy yet crisp texture, woven
from hard spun silk yarn that still has a coating of natural gum. The crisp and
crimpy nature of crêpe de chine is a result of the processes through which the
gauze passes once it is woven. Available as single, double, three-ply and four-ply
crêpes, according to the nature of the yarn used in their manufacture, crêpe de
chine is usually dyed a dark solid color such as black.
FROM
COCOON TO QUEEN OF TEXTILES: A SILKY STORY
Remember
the name bombyx mori. It is the most important name in silk production, because
we know it as the silkworm, from which the world's silk is derived. The silkworm
is actually a generic name for silk-producing larvae of different species of moths,
though the larva is actually a caterpillar that matures into a moth after a period
spent as a cocoon. It is this cocoon that is harvested to produce silk. How thread
spun by the bombyx mori eventually ends up as a silk scarf is a long and highly
interesting story, with numerous sub-plots thrown in.
Our story begins
in ancient China, in about 2700 B.C., and while the tale may not necessarily be
true in all its aspects, it certainly proves that silk as a fabric was first used
in China. To return to the story, Emperor Huang-Ti asked a young Chinese woman
called Hsi-Ling-Shi (some accounts say she was the wife of the Emperor, which
adds the touch of glamour that every story needs) to find out what was eating
the leaves of the mulberry trees in his garden.
Hsi-Ling-Shi duly investigated
the matter, and found the trees infested with little white worms that spun glossy
cocoons. While examining one of the cocoons closely, she accidentally dropped
it into her hot tea (or it may have been a bowl of hot water) and a gossamer strand
emanated from the cocoon. As Hsi-Ling-Shi drew it out, it unwound as a single
strand of some shiny material.
That was it. That simple accident was at
the root of the discovery of one the finest fabrics the world has known, derived
from one of nature's strongest fibers. Hsi-Ling-Shi is also credited with having
discovered the earliest silk reel, which converted the silk strands into thread.
However, silk was a secret that the Chinese were not willing to share and for
almost 3000 years, death was the penalty for anyone who revealed the art of silk
making to the outside world, which had delightedly welcomed this Chinese export
and was desperate to know more about it.
Nevertheless, since you can't
keep a good thing down forever, silk and its secrets eventually made their way
to the Western world via a celebrated trade route opened in 139 B.C. Appropriately
called the Silk Route, it was the world's longest trade route and led from China
to important ports on the Mediterranean Sea. By 300 A.D., Japan and India were
also producing silk, and they continue to do so.
Despite the loss of China's
monopoly, however, Europe and America were not to achieve significant success
in the making of silk until the 18th and 19th centuries, when the Industrial Revolution
was taking place. Once it reached these continents, however, silk production became
a major industry, particularly in England, which became a leading silk manufacturer
thanks to the use of advanced silk-weaving looms, power looms and roller printing.
Today, silk manufacturing continues to be one of the principal industries
in Thailand, Japan, India and China. The worldwide demand for silk shows no signs
of abating, and we look forward to many happy sessions as we join you in exploring
the intricacies of this rich and varied fabric.
