The cool luxurious feel of certain fabrics against your skin is something that cannot be replicated. It is very soft and smooth and simply caresses your skin.

Silk has long been a staple and exotic fabric and a symbol of pure luxury.

For thousands of years only the elite were able to afford this rare commodity. It may have been harvested by simple farmers but it wasn’t worn by them and it had a tremendous impact on the trading world.

As precious as gold and spices were, the demand for silk was even more. This creation of nature is still sought after today. Yes, the availability has increased and more people are able to wear it but pure silk is something that is still a valuable commodity.

This article will let you know about silk’s unique history and how it helped shape the world of fashion today. You may just find out something that you did not know.

When was silk first discovered?

Silks were discovered between 6000 and 3000 BC by the Chinese. The empress Xi Ling-Shi was the first to develop the silks into fabrics. But the rarity of silks meant that only the royalty had access to this precious fabric. Gradually through gifts and trade the silks made their way to various other parts of Asia.

From Asia it was a simple matter of traders taking the silk fabric with them throughout the rest of the known world. For many centuries the Emperors of China hoarded the secret of cultivating the silkmoths in captivity. There is countless recordings or digs in which silks were discovered from around the world.

What types of clothing can be made from silk?

Any type of clothing can be made from silks. The key is not using just one strand though. Spinners have to combine several strands of silk in order to make a tough enough fiber to withstand the weaving process. Fabrics that are made from very thin silks can easily tear or rip apart.

But to answer the question, you can find silken fabrics to make anything from. If you want a pair of socks…there are certainly manufacturers out there that can provide you with them.

It is more common to find silks being woven into typical clothing items such as dresses, pants or shirts. The smooth quality of the fabric combined with its luster gives it a great appeal to virtually everyone.

Who was the first person to mass produce silk?

There really is not one single person who is written down in history as the first to mass produce silks. History does credit the Chinese for holding the majority of the market even up to this day.

True mass production of silks did not come until the Industrial Revolution. Thanks to new weaving methods and machinery, more silken fabric could be produced. The Jacquard loom helped make silk embroidery easier and less expensive.

How does silk come in so many colors?

Silks are just like any other fibre that is woven. It can be dyed to any color that the manufacturer wants. There is a process though. First the fabric must be bleached to remove the natural yellow tint that comes from the raw silks. After it has been bleached out, dyes can be added in to reach the desired shade for the finished product.

Quality silks will be dyed in a way so that you do not have to worry about bleeding or color run-off. In the past when the dying process was done by hand, the colors were fairly limited with what could be dyed naturally. With today’s chemicals and varying shades of hues, a silken fabric can be transformed into a multitude of colors.

By: Michael Selvon

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Mike Selvon portal offers free articles on silk. Find out more about silk, and leave a comment at the discount silk blog.

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Boxer shorts, also known as loose boxers or just boxers have come a long way since the early days

Lets look at the traditional male boxer short and the trend for silkier and snugger boxers for men.

Can you remember when shorts just used to be shorts and all there was to chose from was white cotton ones and perhaps a few other colors. However, there is a huge range of colors and styles now and they seem to have got silkier without even containing an ounce of silk.

Boxer shorts were once traditionally designed to be loose fitting cotton shorts worn as underwear. However, they seem to have taken on an entirely new shape and style, available in a range of super fine fabrics, which gives then a super soft and silky second skin feel to them.

It seems that men are no longer content with any old fabric and underwear manufacturers are rising to the demand and are producing a much broader range of men’s shorts that incorporate the latest technical fabrics. HOM fashion are even producing a range of underwear called ‘Light Colours’ made from fabric that have an anti bacterial property to it and fit like a second skin with silk like feel.

So what is on offer and what is driving the demand? There are trunks, boxer shorts, maxis, boxer briefs and hipsters to name just a few. However, what does seem apparent is there is much less of what we regard as the traditionaltype. Much, if not 90% of what is marketed nowadays is almost certainly going to incorporate a degree of lycra that produces a snug and close fitting pair of underpants. These seem to be one of the most popular styles of underwear for men and it appears that this is largely because of the fantastic amount of support and control that they offer men in the ‘giggleberries’ department.

Fabrics have evolved considerable and the choices available and used for ladies lingerie is now being used widely for men’s underwear. There are some particularly great technical fabrics and micro fibres that have all the properties that are idea for the active male and sportsman. These not only offer support and control, but have cooling qualities and an ability to wick sweat away from the skin.

Whatever your preference there is a vast choice of underwear for men that are labeled as ‘boxer shorts’. Take a look at what HOM Fashion has to offer at to see how far styles have come. Men can choose from fitted trunks that sit low on the hip, have a short square leg, are made from lycra, polymides, super soft next generation cottons that are almost as fine as silk and in a choice of colors as broad as the spectrum.

By Jane Pointon

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It has many fairytale stories on the silk with its early development possibly by 6000 BC. More fabulous features of silk are unveiled by the research which tells people why. Some of them are so interesting that you have possibly never heard that.

Silk Production Life cycle

Silk can be produced by wild caterpillars or mulberry silkworm. Compared to the wild silks, the scale of cultivated silks is far bigger and the quality of silks is more controllable. The most popular type of silk is produced from cocoons made by the larvae of the mulberry silkworm. The whole life cycle of silkworm has four stages: egg, larva, cocoon (pupa), and moth. The commercial silk production happens at the third stage: cocoon or pupa before the pupae make damage by the emerging moth.

It takes around 30 days to become mature silkworm from larva with enough food – mulberry leaves. It spins and makes cocoons, then turns into pupa. The pupa becomes a moth in about 10 days and a moth comes out the cocoon shell. The female moth dies almost immediately after the egg depositing. The male lives only a short time after. The silkworm contributes one of the most luxurious fabrics within a short time life cycle.

Uses

Silk has a wide application in the clothing industry such as formal dresses, fashion clothes, bathrobes, pajamas, scarves, cufflinks, and underwear. It is a perfect all season fabric. In summer silk makes it comfortable to wear in warm weather because of its good absorbency for moisture and its low conductivity keeps warm air close to the skin during winter season.

Also the silk fabric can be transformed with a cashmere-like soft touch through napping so it becomes warmer with this kind of silk scarves and clothes. People love the shimmering appearance of silk but few know the reason. The shimmering comes from the fibers’ triangular prism-like structure which allows incoming light to refract at different angles.

Besides the clothing industry, silk has many uses in other fields such as home decor, military and medical. A piece of hand painted silk scarf can be framed to decorate your home if art is your favorite. The soft appearance disguises one important feature of silk: silk is the strongest natural fiber, even stronger than a steel filament of the same diameter as silk. That is why early bulletproof vests were made from silk until about World War I. Surgical sutures are another application in medicine.

Production

Most of silk production countries are from Asia and China is the largest provider around 80%. Brazil is the only non-Asian country that is on the top ten list. USA is the largest consumer country of silk in the world.

Interesting Number

Some numbers are interesting and few people know that. One cocoon can unravel a continuous thread of1000 meter long. Silk fiber is one of the finest fibers, about 10 nm (1/1,000,000 cm) in diameter. A single kimono takes silk from over 2000 cocoons.

The above information presented shows you why it has such a good reputation in the fabrics world. Silk is definitely one of the top choices for people who love natural and quality fabrics. It is soft yet strong, versatile and comes in the most beautiful colors and designs.

By: tietosuccess

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

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