What is raw silk?
—reeled silk that still has all its gum. This makes a sturdy though almost
completely transparent fabric.
How do I care for my natural dyed and/or silk products?
All natural silks
can be handwashed, and all my naturally dyed silks can be handwashed or washed on a gentle cycle with mild detergent. Contrary
to clothing labels, silk should not be dry cleaned. I wash all my silks
in the washing machine, gentle cycle, with warm water, and a gentle
detergent, such as Crystal White or Ivory dish soap.
What does undyed silk fabric look like? Is it bleached?
No, bleached is bleached; undyed should mean nothing has been done to change the
colour. Cultivated silk is naturally a light eggshell. Noil in natural (or "raw
silk") is a dark eggshell. Tussah is beige to tan, depending
on the moth and climate.
Today, most white is actually a dye — a fluorescent dye that makes whites glow purple under blacklight (ultraviolet, or UV, light). In daylight, which is part UV, that fluorescence makes it look "whiter than white". I never use this, but do bleach using pure hydrogen peroxide, which doesn't add harmful chemicals into the environment, as it turns to simple water after it lightens the material.
In the pictures of our products, if the yarn or fabric is a pale shade of off-white, that's the undyed version. If it's a picture of a dyed product, you'll be able to tell!
What is wild silk?
There used to be many, many types of wild silk. Today there are many fewer, due
to the spraying of DDT (before its ban) for mosquitos in the jungles of Asia
and Central America. These varieties of wild
silkmoths lives in a small area in India. The villagers in this forested region
gather the cocoons in the wild and then semi-cultivate a larger raising from
the eggs of the wild moths that emerge. It is an exceptional and labour-intensive
process to obtain the exquisite golden-beige fibre these wild silkworms produce.
There are many varieties and shades of wild silk. As the caterpillars eat all kinds of different trees, all rich in tannin, the silk is beige to brownish toned. Tussah silks are wildcrafted and thus may be considered "organically raised". They are naturally tan, and generally are stronger and more resilient than cultivated "white" silks.
Is all wild silk vegetarian?
Yes! It is necessarily so. The silk is collected after the silkmoth has emerged, so none are killed. Occasionally there are moths that never emerge and die in their cocoon. It happens and those cocoons are never used because in the wild, there is no way of telling if the moth is just a late start, or if it is dead. These trees are never sprayed with pesticides because it will kill the silkworms, and the only fertilizer is the moth carcasses after they have completed their life cycle.
What's the difference between undyed Ahimsa™ and Eri Peace
Silks?
The Ahimsa™ Peace silk is from Bombyx mori cultivated cocoons, and our
Eri Peace silk is from wildcrafted or semi-cultivated wild silk cocoons. The
Ahimsa™ is slightly whiter and brighter after washing. It has a slightly
higher sparkle, or soft luster. Also, the hand is a little softer, as the fibre
is the finest cultivated variety.
I expect the Ahimsa™ to take dye colours like other Bombyx silks, while the Eri dyes like other wild silks. (Will be testing this in early 2007.)
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