SILK

the queen of fibres

Presenation by Ms. Heena Nandani

THE COMMERCE OF SILK
 Chinese first produced silk 4000 years ago
 India, China and Japan are the major producers of
silk
 The commercial production of silk is called
“Sericulture”
 Commercially produced varieties of silk
 MULBERRY
 ERI
 MUGA
 TUSSAR
MULBERRY SILK
• Bombyx Mori
• Superior quality of silk
• Smooth lustre
• Expensive
• White to off white
• Fine light weight lustrous fabric
ERI SILK
• Samia Ricini
• Found in Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur,
Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand,
Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh
• Made from secondary cocoons
• Is a staple silk fibres
• Strong, durable and light weight
• Off white to dull gold colour
• Extracted from open mouthed cocoons
MUGA SILK
• Wild silk from Assam
• Antheraea Assamensis
• Extremely durable
• Natural golden yellow colour
• Shimmering, glossy texture
• Earlier reserved for royalty
TUSSAR SILK
• Wide winged wild moth – Antheraea
Paphia
• Also called wild silk/ Tassar silk
• Obtained from forests
• Dull gold to light brownish colour
• Shorter fibres with less strength
• Valued for its rough texture, charm and
natural gold colour.
SERICULTURE
PROCESS
 LONGITUDINAL
SECTION
 Long rod like
 Smooth
 Soft lustre
 Only naturally occurring
filament fibre
 CROSS
SECTION
 Triangular cross section
 Two long strands face to face
 Smooth side provides increased
surface giving silk its lustre
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF
SILK
 Length – 900 – 1200 m. sometimes 2750 m
 Diameter – 9 – 11 microns
 Colour – Mulberry off white to white, Eri – off white to yellow, Muga – golden
yellow, Tussar – light brown
 Lustre – soft lustre with occasional sparkle
 Tenacity – dry strength of 2.5 – 5 g/ d
 Elongation and elastic recovery – 10 – 25 % elongation and 92% recovery at
2% elongation
 Resiliency – Medium resiliency
 Density – 1.25 – 1.34 g/cc
 Moisture Regain – 11 %
 Thermal properties – Ironing temp 120 – 135 degrees C. Greater than 150
degrees C it scorches
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF
SILK
Decomposed by strong mineral acids,
Can withstand mild acids and organic
acids

 Acetic acid used to add ‘scroop’ to

the silk fabric

 Alkalis deteriorate the fabric so pH

neutral detergents like Ezee and
Genteel are recommended for
laundering silks
BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES
OF SILK
 Attacked by carpet beetle

 Resistent to clothes moth,

mildew, bacteria and
fungi.

 Must be stored carefully

when not in use
OTHER PROPERTIES OF
SILK
 Dimensional stability: Silk exhibits
good resistance to stretch or
shrinkage when laundered or dry
cleaned.

 Static charge: Silk being a poor

conductor of electricity can pose
the problem of static charge build
up.

 Sunlight: The UV rays in sunlight

can damage silk.
 USES OF
SILK
 Apparel
 Home furnishings
 Medical sutures
 Type writer ribbons
CARE OF SILK
 Can be hand washed at home
 pH neutral detergents like Ezee & Genteel
 Lukewarm water
 No brush fricting
 Only kneading and squeezing method
 Acetic acid for scroop
 Gum Arabic for stiffening
 Pressed between palms and wrapped in towels
to dry
 Ironing with steam iron or damp muslin
 No spraying water to iron
THANK YOU