Silk is a very smooth cloth and feels pleasant on the skin when worn. Many people wear silk, but what do you really know about silk? People may know little common facts such as silk comes from the cacoon of larvae from insects and moths. But there are many more facts about silk that will make you think twice before you wear silk again.
Silk culture has been practiced for over 5,000 years in China. A silkworm's diet is mostly mullberry leaves. A female silkworm lays about 400 eggs at a time. So 100 moths can deposite more than 40,000 eggs which is only the size of a pinhead. The female silkworm will die immediatly after laying her eggs and the male silkworm will die shortly after. Silkworms will reach their maximum size in only six weeks. A cacoom is made of a single continuous thread that stretches to about 2/3 of a mile in length. Between 2,000 to 3,000 cacoons makes about a pound of silk which can stretch if tied together over 1,000 miles. Silk is the strongest natural made fiber known to man.
Even though many people wear silk every day, they may not know all of the facts about silk and where it comes from. Maybe now people will appriciate the time and effort put into the shirt that they wear once every two weeks.
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Wow, this is really neat! I didn't know that silk was such a commodity !
ReplyDeleteI had no idea the process needed to make silk, seems like a simple article of clothing, but apparently not. Interesting facts!
ReplyDeleteI can definitely appreciate this post. At my store, we sell silk clothing and people complain that the prices are so expensive. If people really knew the work that goes into silk and how unique it is, they would have more appreciation for it!
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