Silk has been produced in China for more than 3,000 years. China held a monopoly on the silk
trade until 550 A.D. which forced silk traders to build the famous silk route. This route went
from China through the Gobi Desert and ended in the Middle East.
   It is believed that Japan learned how to produce silk from Koreans who smuggled silkworm
eggs out of china in hollow staffs and canes that they carried while traveling.
Although China is still the top producer India, Japan, Korea, Italy, Spain, France, Austria, Iran,
Turkey, Greece, Syria, Bulgaria and Brazil are major cultivators. 
   The two most common silkworms are the Bombyx Mori and the Tussah and both can be
presented in several ways. Filament silk is the actual silk thread that the cocoon has been spun
from. The length of the filament is amount a mile. It is reeled together with 3 to 8 other cocoons
to increase the diameter. This form is also called throwing silk. 
   Spinning silk is the waste from the reeling operation or from cocoons that could not be used in
as they where damaged or had irregularities.. The silk is degummed and cut into shorter lengths,
carded and combed. Damaged or irregular cocoons are also used in an expanded form called
Mawata, sometime referred to as wadding. The cocoons are boiled and turned inside out to
remove the moth. The cocoon is then pulled and stretched over a frame to dry. Silk noils are the
short hard fibers that are removed when the fiber is combed.
   Silk needs to be spun with a lot of twist or it will become fuzzy during wearing. The easiest
method to achieve this high twist is to spin a bobbin, then respin the single  in the same direction
it was first spun. Silk has a greater affinity to dyes then any other textile fiber. It absorbs dyes at
a lower temperature and can be dyed with both basic and acid dyes. 

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Bombyx Mori, 
white silk,. is domesticated and feeds only on white mulberry leaves. The good
cocoons are reeled and the waste or poor cocoons are degummed , carded and combed for spun
silk. Mawata hankies and caps are also made from poor or pierced cocoons.

Tussah, 
golden silk, wild or partially cultivated. The tussah caterpillars feed on oak leaves
which contains tannic acid. This acid is what gives this silk it’s beige color. The real tussah silk
moth is found in Mongolia; however, all wild silk is tussah. The cocoons are large and irregular.
The gum is very hard and the cocoon does not reel well. The tussah fibers are coarser then the
Bombyx Mori.

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Mawata, 
expanded silk cocoons, silks squares or hankies are made from the entire fiber of one
cocoon. Each expanded cocoon is laid on top of the first until the desired density has been
reached. This is left on the frame to dry. There are at least 800 silk squares in one pound of
mawata.  Silk Caps or Bells are degummed cocoons shaped over a ceramic mold, removed and hung to
dry. It is very important that the cocoons are expanded evenly as this form is much more uniform
than the hankies. It takes 50 to 200 cocoons to make a cap. Each cap weighs one to three ounces.
A very fine and even thread can be pulled from expanded silk. The silk is used to make a fabric
called “Tsumugi”. Both warp and weft are made from the unspun silk. The fiber is pulled out,
rolled a bit with the fingers and moistened with saliva.
   To spin caps or hankies you first have to expanded it. Place your fist inside a cap and punch
out until it looks light. Hankies need to be snapped at the edges to open up the fibers. Once the
fibers are opened they can be pulled into a roving and spun as combed silk.

All Prices are in Canadian Dollars
plus shipping
 Residents of Ontario subject to 8% Sales tax
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