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Silk types — What are the differences in silk quality?
Silk is produced from the threads of 2 different silkworms and from 3 different thread-lengths. Like all natural fibers, silk can occasionally contain small irregularities.
Mulberry Silk
Mulberry silk The mulberry silkworm (bombyx mori) spins an extremely fine, even, pure white thread. Silk fabric woven from this thread is correspondingly fine and can be dyed with the most brilliant of colors. This type of silk is considered the most valuable. Mulberry silk is the result of thousands of years of selective breeding in China.
Tussah Silk
Tussahsilk (also called a Wildsilkspinner) produces a golden-yellow thread of uneven consistency. These moths live wild in many parts of the orient. Tussah silk is thicker and less glossy. The color often has an uneven and broken character.
Spooled Silk
Spooled silk this is the term used for the "endless" silk threads unwound from the actual cocoons. This fine thread can be up to 1200 meters long, and needs only to be unwound from the cocoons before being processed. Spun Silk is used to produce the finest, glossiest fabrics.
Spun Silk
is produced from the shorter (ca 10-15 cm) threads, which are removed from the ends of the cocoons or from cocoons which are damaged. The threads are spun into a yarn in a process similar to the spinning of wool.
Bourettesilk
Bourettesilk is produced from leftover threads and the remains of damaged cocoons. Because these are the shortest threads, the fabrics cannot be fully cleansed of impurities. These impurities lend the fabric its typically knobby, uneven consistency and characteristic odor when damp. The intensity of this scent varies from harvest to harvest and disappears with time. Garments made of bourette silk will often become misshapen through washing. This can be countered by spreading the garment out on a flat surface to dry, and then steam ironing.
Silkjersey
Silkjersey is a fine woven fabric which is especially supple. The distinguishing criterium for judging the quality of the fabric is its weight. (for instance 100gr. 135gr. or 165gr. per square meter) If the fabric is heavier, the opacity is higher and the price is more expensive.
Sandwashing
Sandwashing is a treatment which lends the fabric a polished, velveteen surface. The treatment consists of washing the silk with soda. Silkjersey gains opacity through this treatment. Inconsistencies are to be expected in silk as with all natural fibers, and appear occasionally in small numbers.
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