Silk is a soft, luxurious fabric that adds beauty to garments. Different types of silk are available worldwide.
Silk is suitable for making fabric, from nightgowns to big bed sheets, and it is naturally the most robust textile in the world.
Furthermore, silk has several properties that distinguish it from other fabrics; they are suitable for any climate.
Silk absorbs quickly and dries quickly. Its robustness is another property. Silk odors and colors well. Lastly, it blends well with other animal and vegetative fibers.
Silk is produced from silkworms. The quality of silk fabrics depends on the species of silkworm and the type of weave used to create them.
Furthermore, it is interesting to note that different types of silk cannot be identified unless a magnifying lens is used to inspect their quality.
Silk is from a wide variety of silkworms with different qualities, so understanding the different types of silk will help you choose the best silk for your needs.
This article is a guide to some types of silk fabrics.
Different Types of Silk
1. Mulberry Silk
Mulberry silk is one type of silk. It is the most popular silk globally, accounting for around 90% of silk produced globally.
The bombyx Mori silkworms are the most popular mulberry silkworms. Mulberry silk threads are the strongest and smoothest type of silk and are also known for their ability to hold moisture very well.
However, there are different mulberry silkworms because they are of varying quality—the quality of silkworms is measured in Grades.
Grade A silk is the highest-quality raw silk. This type of silk from cocoons develops correctly.
Grade B is the next in line, and this type of silk is from cocoons that didn’t develop properly.
However, Grade C silk comes from the inner portion of the Cocoon, and these types of silk usually have shorter fibers.
Furthermore, since this type of silk is the most common, mulberry silk can be seen quite easily. Countries such as China, Japan, and Korea have abundant it.
2. Eri Silk
Eri silk is indigenous to India and derived from the domesticated Philosamia ricini silkworm.
Eri silkworms are domesticated, raised, and fed with castor leaves until they grow to full size before spinning Cocoons.
Furthermore, Eri silk is nicknamed peace silk because the silk caterpillars are not destroyed in the Cocoon.
Instead, they allow the caterpillar to emerge as a moth and live an entire lifecycle fully.
Furthermore, the worm will be boiled inside the Cocoon, leaving a hole for the Cocoon to emerge from.
Aside from the mulberry silkworm, the other domesticated silkworm today is the Eri silkworm, which means that without humans, the silkworm can not develop.
This type of silk is regarded as the world’s most sustainable fabric. However, this silk is not commonly used for most materials because of its elasticity and is heavier than other silks.
They can also harbor microorganisms as it is easier for the organism to stick on its thicker layer.
However, this type of silk can be your choice of warmth during the winter because of its thermal properties.
3. Tasar Silk
Tasar silk is also known as Tussah silk; this type of silk is naturally gold in color and produced by several species of silkworms.
The most common silkworm with this type of silk is the Tussah silkworm, and the Tussah silkworm consumes Tannin-rich leaves, hence the fold color of Tasar silk.
Furthermore, these silkworms often live within the trees in the wild forests of China, India, Japan, and Sri Lanka.
Tasar Silk is more textured than mulberry silk, making it softer to use, but the only reason mulberry silk is widely used is that mulberry silk is more durable.
4. Muga Silk
We can’t talk of Muga silk without mentioning the Indian state of Assam. Muga silk is a type of silk found in Assam, and the silk is known for its natural golden color.
Furthermore, this muga silk is semi-domesticated and considered more eco-friendly because the silkworm does not require delicate care.
Muga is affordable, and because of the region specificity, Muga silk is suitable for making the Indian Saare, a traditional garment worn in India.
5. Spider Silk
Spider silk is one of the different types of silk. You might be surprised to learn that ancient cultures have long used it.
This type of silk is challenging to produce because you can not just breed spiders the way you breed silkworms.
Furthermore, you should note that spiders cannot produce as much yarn as silkworms.
However, spider silk is strong; the tensile strength of spider silk is like that of alloy steel.
6. Mussel Silk
Mussel silk is also known as sea silk. This silk-like spider silk is also not gotten from silkworms.
Sea silk is so rare to find and, therefore, a lot more expensive than the other types of silk; furthermore, this type of silk is produced by a mollusk known as Pinna Nobilis.
Unfortunately, this mollusk is gradually going into extinction due to the effect of pollution.
