WHAT IS SILK? | S1:E8 | Fibers and Fabrics | Beate Myburgh

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00:15 Silk comes from silk worms
00:45 old fabric & the silk road
01:40 how silk is made by the silk worm
02:15 Ethical silk (peace silk)
02:59 Examples of silk
05:00 General Pros
05:58 General Cons
06:37 Environmental Pros
06:50 Environmental Cons

How its made

The process of silk production is known as sericulture. ... Extracting raw silk starts by cultivating the silkworms on mulberry leaves. Once the worms start pupating in their cocoons, these are dissolved in boiling water in order for individual long fibres to be extracted and fed into the spinning reel.

The history of silk

Only for a select few
For a long time, silk was a material reserved for the Emperor of China and those very close to him, such as important family members and very high-ranking dignitaries. Some very old and possibly semi-legendary sources write about how the Emperor always wore white silk within his imperial palace, and yellow silk when venturing outside. The principal wife to the Emperor and the heir to the imperial throne are also described as wearing yellow silk when showing themselves outside the palace.

Silk as a currency / commodity
During the Han Dynasty, silk became somewhat of a currency. There are for instance documents from this era telling us about farmers who paid their taxes in grain and silk. When taxes were paid in silk, it also ment that the state would make its payments in silk, and civil servents could for instance get their salary in the form of silk. The cost of something could be described using lenghts of silk as the unit of measurment, just like many other societies would use weight units of gold or silver.

The Silk Road
The Silk Road derives its name from the lucrative trade in silk carried out along its lenght. It was this trade that made it possible for people in places located far away from any silk cultivation and silk weaving to wear and use silk. For instance, silk has been found with an ancient Egyptian mummy in the village of Deir el Medina; a mummy dated to 1070 BC.

The Silk Road was important because it helped to generate trade and commerce between a number of different kingdoms and empires. This helped for ideas, culture, inventions, and unique products to spread across much of the settled world.

It went along the northern borders of China, India, and Persia and ended up in Eastern Europe near today's Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea. Why was the Silk Road important? The Silk Road was important because it helped to generate trade and commerce between a number of different kingdoms and empires.

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Peace Silk

Silk – the material so soft it became an adjective. Not only is silk timelessly elegant, it also has flame retardant and antibacterial properties. So we want to know – just how ethical and sustainable is the fabric of royalty?

[styrosk]

I've been looking up different videos on silk because I want to raise silkworms and make it myself and this was very helpful, so thank you for that. I think peace silk is an interesting concept, but not very sustainable in the long run. Silk moths don't live very long but they breed prolifically and I think that can cause some problems, especially if you don't live in an area where mulberry trees are common. In a lot of Asian countries, the silkworm pupae are fried after being boiled and sold as a street snack. I've heard it's one of the most delicious bugs to eat, eating bugs also helps reduce pollution because they don't need as much land or food as livestock. In any case, thank you for this video.

[aloneinthedark]

I love your channel, you're very good. 😊👍

[alternateunreleasedshellac]

Do you think that silk would be more environmentally friendly than viscose?