According to Chinese legend silk was discovered by a consort of the Yellow Emperor in 2640 B.C. While drinking tea in the imperial garden, a silk cocoon from a mulberry tree fell into the princess’s cup and unraveled into a continuous, long delicate thread. Upon her discovery, the princess fueled the production of textiles woven from the silk fibers created by the worms. Whether or not this legend is true, silk is still considered to be one of the most luxurious and naturally lustrous fibers in the world.
Currently, silk worms are bred in captivity and are fed mulberry leaves to produce silk by emitting fine streams of thick liquid out of tiny openings in their heads. The liquid hardens into filaments as soon as it comes into contact with the surrounding air and is wrapped around the body of the worm to form cocoons. Each cocoon can contain as much as 1600 yards of fiber. When two silk worms nest together to form a double strand in one cocoon the fibers in the resulting yarn are called dupion and appear in irregular thick and thin patterns.
Although silk is fragile to sun exposure it is on the contrary a strong protein/animal fiber. Its benefits include resistant to pilling as well as good elastic quality. Additionally, using silk in interiors may help to distribute light among furniture pieces due to its natural luster. Yes, silk maybe more costly than cotton but the luminous quality of the fibers are unparalleled to other textiles on the market.
