At Joel & Son Fabrics we are crazy about silks - just walk up and down the many 'silk laden' aisles of our London shop to see this. And no wonder, silk is considered one of the most luxurious fabrics in the world! Silk is known as the ‘Queen of fabrics’ and for good reason - for thousands of years, the complex, labour intensive and time-consuming process of creating silk was carried out in the utmost secrecy, making silk fabrics very special and expensive.
Here are our 10 favourite facts about silk.
1. The Chinese are considered to be the pioneers of silk making and the earliest evidence of silk fabrics dates back to about 3630 BC.
2. Silk fabrics were originally reserved for the clothing of emperors who found the texture and lustre very desirable - they would in turn gift silk fabrics to other royals.
3. For over 2000 years, the Chinese kept the process of silk production a secret and anyone found smuggling silkworms or their cocoons, would be punished by death.
4. The finest silk comes from the silkworms produced by the Mulberry Bombyx mori moth.
5. The official term for the production of silk is “sericulture”.
6. One strand of silk is composed of 4 to 8 silk filaments twisted together, making silk one of the strongest fabrics. A silk rope is said to be stronger than a metal one of the same thickness.
7. The tight weave of a silk fabric leaves little room for insects to penetrate and thus protecting one against mosquito bites.
8. Silk and wool fabrics have the same heat conducting protein, making silk fabric an ideal choice for the cold winter months.
9. Silk fabrics are also highly absorbent which makes silk suitable to be worn in hot climates.
10. Silk fabric is naturally hypoallergenic and is said to help delay in getting wrinkles when using a silk pillowcase because of the essential amino acids present in the silk bedding.
Highly desirable, versatile and strong, silk fabrics are ideal for a variety of uses from sleepwear to formal wear, bedding, wallpaper, upholstery, rugs, parachutes and even medical sutures. We stock a wide range of different types of silk fabrics to meet your every need - See our plain and printed luxury silk fabric collections including: silk crepe, silk chiffon, silk lamé, silk georgette, silk jacquard, silk jersey, silk organza, embroidered silk fabrics and many more.