Silk

Elegant gloss Best fiber

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What kind of fiber is Silk?
  1. 1. Silk is protein fiber which silkworms spit out to spin their cocoons.
  2. 2. The silk threads made from the cocoons are called 'raw silk' and about 1,500m of thin and long fiber can be collected from one cocoon.
  3. 3. If you look at its cross section through a microscope, you can see the fiber called 'fibroin' surrounded by a substance like a gelatin glue called 'sericin'.
  4. 4. By refining it, you can get soft and glossy 'fibroin' raw silk.
  • Minaz Silk scarfs
  • Minaz Silk scarfs
  • Minaz Silk scarfs
Production Process of Silk
  • Silkworm farming
    1. 1. This is the process from breeding silkworms to making cocoons.
    2. 2. Breeding silkworms goes through the processes of adjusting temperature and humidity and feeding them on mulberry leaves.
    3. 3. If 30 days of endurance pass, high-quality cocoons are produced by drying them with hot air.
  • Silk reeling
    1. 1. The process of reeling off raw silk from cocoons is called 'silk reeling.'
    2. 2. Breeding silkworms goes through the processes of adjusting temperature and humidity and feeding them on mulberry leaves.
    3. 3. If 30 days of endurance pass, high-quality cocoons are produced by drying them with hot air.
    4. 4. The thread in the raw, obtained from silkworms, is stiff and not glossy.
    5. 5. It is because a substance called 'Sericin' is piled on its surface. If this Sericin is removed by soapy water, it has a gloss and a texture which are unique to the silk.

  • Weaving
    1. 1. This is one of the production processes in which fabric is woven.
    2. 2. Warp threads and weft threads are woven evenly with no strand of thread breaking.
  • Refining
    1. 1. As the woven fabric is stiff and rough, it goes through the process of boiling in order to make it soft and glossy.
    2. 2. As this refining process influences the quality of silk, it can be said to be the most important process.
  • Dyeing, printing and processing
    1. 1. By dyeing, the refined fabric becomes a beautiful, high-quality work of art which has a variety of gloss, textures and colors.
Characteristics of Silk
  1. 1. Strength: It is as strong as a steel wire whose thickness is the same as that of silk.
  2. 2. Gloss: Silk has elegant gloss which is similar to that of the pearl. It is because the multi-layered fibroin has a prism-shaped structure which disperses light.
  3. 3. Non-irritation: The amino acid of silk does not irritate the skin. Besides, it is said that silk prevents various skin-related diseases. Some cosmetic products are made from silk powder.
  4. 4. Silk is known as the best fiber in the natural world.
  5. 5. Hygroscopic property: As the amino acid and tiny empty spaces inside silk fabric absorb and discharge a large amount of perspiration, your body does not become sticky and you feel refreshed even in hot weather if you wear silk clothes.
  6. 6. Thermal resistance: Silk does not burn easily and emit toxic gas even when it burns.
  7. 7. Skin protection: As silk absorbs ultraviolet rays, it protects the skin.
  8. 8. Reduction of static electricity generation: As silk contains both cations and anions and absorbs moisture well, it does not generate static electricity easily like other fabrics.
Silk management method
  1. 1. Washing: It is most desirable that silk clothes should be dry-cleaned.
  2. 2. Ironing: Before ironing, put a cloth between silk and an iron.
    Set the temperature at about 130°C and make efforts to iron the silk in the direction of its grain.
  3. 3. Stain removal
  4. In case silk is discolored a little bit
    1. If you tap it with an oil pad, it can be restored. 2. If you want to restore the color of the whole fabric, soak it in a solution containing a gloss-softening agent, squeeze lightly and dry it, then you can restore its color.
    How to solve the yellowing problem
    If you wet the stain with 3% oxygenated water solution, add 3% ammonia solution and heat it with a steam gun, you can see small bubbles appear. At this time, you can also see the stain removed.
    In case silk is completely discolored, putting you in trouble
    You may buy an acid dyestuff called 'Silk Dye' at an art supplies specialty store and splay it to the discolored part with a special sprayer to restore the color.
    In order to increase the chances of success, you are recommended to try several times with a light color. To do this, a skilled technician is required.
  5. 4. Storage: Avoid moisture and direct sunlight, and be careful so that it is not moth-eaten.
    Do not hang it on a hanger using sponge. Store it on a flat surface. If possible, do not fold it several times for storage.
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