SILK

Introduction

Silk is a natural protein fiber , some forms of which can be woven into textiles.
Silk is protein based and originates from the cocoons of various insects.

The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect
larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the cocoon of the larvae
of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori .
The shimmering appearance of silk is due to the triangular prism-like structure of the
silk fibre, which allows silk cloth to refract incoming light at different angles, thus
producing different colors.

Silk is produced by several insects; but, generally, only the silk of moth caterpillars has
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been used for textile manufacturing. There has been some research into other types of
silk, which differ at the molecular level. Silk is mainly produced by the larvae of insects
undergoing complete metamorphosis, but some insects, such as webspinners and
raspy crickets, produce silk throughout their lives.

A cocoon
 HISTORY OF SILK
1.The origin of 3.After a few decades
Silk dates back Emperor Justinian of
to Indus Valley Byzantine sent two
Civilization in monks to Central Asia
around 2000 BC. and they smuggled
silkworm eggs to him 5. In 1540 7.Currently,
However, the Lyon became China is the
.That moment marks
origins are also beginning of silk the capital of world's
seen in 2500 BC industry in the Eastern the European largest silk
in China. Roman Empire. silk trade. producer.

2.Soon the 4. However ,Italian 6. Japan

Chinese lost silk was very became
their secret expensive so the world's
to the fashion industry in greatest
Koreans, France , which producer of
Japanese continuously silk which
demanded lighter lasted until
and later
and less expensive World War II.
the Indians. materials began
making silk locally
How is silk produced?
• The making of silk is different from that of
other natural fibres.
• The process of silk production is known
as sericulture.
• The entire production process of silk can be
divided into several steps which are typically
handled by different entities.

• Extracting raw silk starts by cultivating the

silkworms on mulberry leaves.
• Once the worms start pupating in their
cocoons, these are dissolved in boiling water
in order for individual long fibres to be
extracted and fed into the spinning reel.
 Laying eggs
As they are subject to hereditary infection, the
eggs from infected moths are destroyed which
results into production of fine silk.

Hatching of tiny black

Female moth lays caterpillar. Larvae of
around 350 to 400 about 3mm are
tiny eggs and dies hatched from the
soon after eggs.

Adult moths mate Eats mulberry leaves.

with each other on For about 20 to 30
the 8th day days, they are
carefully nurtured and
are fed five times a
day on chopped
mulberry leaves.
Four stages
Inside the cocoon the
caterpillar changes Grows bigger and
into a pupa which grows through 4 molts
https://www.youtube. changes into the moth
that comes out of the
com/watch?v=b8rX5D cocoon
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Spins a cocoon of silk

threads around itself
 • The silk yarn production begins with selecting for their
quality.

Processing & Grading • The cocoons will be sorted into normal and abnormal
cocoons. The fresh cocoons normal are reelable to
produce raw silk but the abnormal cocoons are
unreelable.

• The abnormal cocoons are double cocoons, perforated

cocoons, internally and externally soiled cocoons, thin-
end cocoons, thin-middle cocoons, malformed cocoons,
etc.

• After the first selection of cocoons, They have to be

dried. The first goal of cocoon drying is the protection of
cocoon quality, to preserve conditions for reeling
cocoons and prevent damage that might be caused by
long periods of storage.
• Drying kills the pupa and evaporates moisture that would
otherwise ruin cocoons. Dried cocoon storage conditions
are designed to keep the raw material for long periods
without any damage from moulds and pests. Cocoon
Process of extracting fibres. storage should preferably be built with double walls.
• Cloth or polyethylene bags are recommended as containers
for dried cocoon storage. In most modern factories which
aim at producing high-grade raw silk, the cocoons are
graded on visual inspection or by mechanical tests are
actually mixed as in the required proportions.
• This is called cocoon mixing or blending and is done to
ensure speed and uniformity of reeling as well as to obtain
the desired effect in raw silk.
• The reelable cocoons have then to undergo the reeling
processing, after which they are either processed further to
raw silk or to thrown silk. The unreelable silk is processed
further to spun silk.
• Regenerated silk fiber :
• RSF is produced by chemically dissolving silkworm cocoons,
leaving their molecular structure intact. The silk fibers
dissolve into tiny thread-like structures known
as microfibrils. The resulting solution is extruded through a
small opening, causing the microfibrils to reassemble into a
single fiber. The resulting material is reportedly twice as
stiff as silk

Extraction of fibres.
Interesting Facts

• The eggs hatch into the silkworms in spring time and the complete cycle takes
approximately about two months.
• The silkworm begins to secrete a protein like substance through a small opening
under the caterpillar’s jaws which is called as the spinneret. The silk solidifies
when it comes in contact with the air.
• The pupae inside the cocoon develop into a moth within two weeks.
• 20000 warms need 0.8 square meters.
• To emerge, the moth breaks open the cocoon by secreting an alkaline liquid that
dissolves the filament.
• To produce 1 kg of silk, 104 kg of mulberry leaves must be eaten by 3000
silkworms. It takes about 5000 silkworms to make a pure silk kimono. The major
silk producers are China (54%) and India (14%).
Properties of silk
• STRENGTH :
It is the strongest natural fibre and has good tensile strength.
• ELASTICITY :
It is an elastic fibre and tends to return to its original size but gradually loses little of its elasticity.
• RESILIENCE :
They retain their shape and have moderate resistance to wrinkling.
• DRAPABILITY :
Due to it’s elasticity and resilience it has an excellent drapability.
• ABSORBENCY :
It has good absorbency and thus are comfortable in summer and warm in winter.
• CLEANLINESS AND WASHABILITY :
Silk fibre doesn’t attract dirt , and the dirt which gathers can be easily removed by washing and dry cleaning.
Silk fabrics should always be washed with mild soap .
• SHRINKAGE :
Silk is subjected to only Normal shrinkage and can be restored by ironing.
• Advantages of silk
• Absorbent : Silk is a highly absorbent fabric and can absorb up to 30 % of its weight without felling
damp. Which makes it a breathable fabric . it also dries super quick .
• Hypoallergenic : due the fact that this fabric in natural its probably the most hypoallergenic fabric
option out there.
• Strong : silk is maybe one of the strongest fibres despite its delicate feel. It even fights soil and
odours.
• Comfortable : given the elegance of the fabric its extremely soft, comfortable and suitable for all
seasons .
•
• Disadvantage of silk
• Care : its not easy clean your silk garments as generally it needs to be dry-cleaned , which can be
expensive. Hand washing is possible with extreme caution.
• Expensive : silk is one of the most expensive fibres on the market adding to its elegance and
luxurious appeal.
• Sun and water damage : while its a strong fabric , it can easily be damaged by too much sun and
water exposure. The sun may result in dullness , fading and weakness . while water ,ay result in
stains.
• Unethical : seeing silkworms can be harmed during the prosses of making this fabric its fair to say
that its unethical. However , there is organic and wild silk available on the market which are some
animal friendly alternatives for silk.
Applications
• Clothing
• Silk's absorbency makes it comfortable to wear in warm weather and while active. Its low
conductivity keeps warm air close to the skin during cold weather.
• For practical use, silk is excellent as clothing that protects from many biting insects that would
ordinarily pierce clothing, such as mosquitoes and horseflies.
• Fabrics that are often made from silk include charmeuse, habutai, chiffon, taffeta, crepe de
chine, dupioni, noil, tussah, and shantung, among others.
• Furniture
• Silk's attractive lustre and drape makes it suitable for many furnishing applications. It is used
for upholstery, wall coverings, window treatments (if blended with another
fiber), rugs, bedding and wall hangings.
• Industry
• Silk had many industrial and commercial uses, such as in parachutes, bicycle tires, comforter
filling and artillery gunpowder bags.
• Medicine
• Biomaterial
• Biocompatibility
• Biodegradability
• Genetic modification
• Genetic modification of domesticated silkworms has been used to alter the composition of the
silk.[85] As well as possibly facilitating the production of more useful types of silk, this may allow
other industrially or therapeutically useful proteins to be made by silkworms.
Animal rights
• As the process of harvesting the silk from the cocoon kills the larvae by boiling them,
sericulture has been criticized by animal welfare and rights activists.
• Mohandas Gandhi was critical of silk production based on the Ahimsa philosophy, which
led to the promotion of cotton and Ahimsa silk, a type of wild silk made from the
cocoons of wild and semi-wild silk moths.
• Since silk cultivation kills silkworms, possibly painfully, People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals (PETA) urges people not to buy silk items.

Different stages of the formation of the cocoon

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