The Beauty of Silk

Silk is usually use for textile and spinning become a yarn, from yarn form than continue for waving process become a cloth. On textile industry there are two different kind of process to form a cloth; knitting or waving process, between these process will result a different kind of cloth, knitting will result a t-shirt cloth and waving will produce a wear cloth. The two kind of process just different on the structure of yarn, knitting process arrange in horizontal and vertical structure, while waving process only in vertical structure which are among the vertical yarn is fasten each other.

OK, we talk about silk; silk itself is produced form silk worm (Bombix mori). The silk worm grows and eats of mulberry leaf (Morus sp). To produce a silk fiber, the farmer must look after for thousand worms in a box place with the dimension of about 5 m x 10 m. The silk worm that care come from Japan race or Chinese race, the criteria of this worm has two half circle sign above the body that look like tattoo in human body. On their life, silk worm have a complete metamorphoses, beginning from egg, larva, worm, cocoon and the last become a butterfly. The eggs that just born will in form larva, small with long of about 3 mm. This worm will eat mulberry leaf and sleep, continuously during 3 days and then will change the skin.

As long as their life this worm will change their skin four times, and passes of five eat period called as instar. Each of instar signed by stopping from eats, then sleep, and then changes their skin off the body. After passing of five instars then worm will change to form cocoon for 2-3 days.

This metamorphoses of silk worm become the end of their live period for about 11 days. After this period cocoon will change to butterfly and breeding. Silk fiber can be harvested when worm still inside the cocoon, before the silk can take from the cocoon, the cocoon should be boiled about 10 minutes and the cocoon will die and also for omitted the adhesive material from silk. This silk will spin become yarn.

Silk

Silk is the filament secreted by the silkworm when spinning its cocoon, and the name for the threads, yarns and fabrics made from the filament. Most commercial silk is produced by the cultivated silkworm, Bombyx mori, which feeds exclusively on the leaves of certain varieties of mulberry trees and spins a thin, white filament.

The silkworm constructs its cocoon when it is preparing to enter its chrysalis stage. The cocoon is made from a double filament of silk, wrapped layer by layer around the insect's body and cemented by a gelatinous protein, sericin. If development is allowed to continue normally, in about 2 weeks the chrysalis will break through the cocoon filament and emerge as a moth.

Properties of Silk

Despite its delicate look and feel, silk is the strongest of all natural fibers. Woven into cloth, silk is lightweight but retain warmth, and it is valued as an insulating liner in gloves and footwear. Nevertheless, it is the coolest of hot weather fabrics, and it can absorb up to 30 percent of its weight in moisture without feeling wet. The fiber is remarkably resistant to it. Its low conductivity makes it excellent for electric wire insulation. Before nylon, silk was the only fiber strong and light enough to be used for parachutes, sheer hosiery, and surgical sutures. The strong of the silk never be created by human until now, this is a God creation that is very strong that can bear hundreds time of their weight itself, this is strongest than wire steel if compared between the weight and the strength.