While in Thailand I learned how silk was made.
Silk Worms!
These are the worms, some of their eggs and the leaves they eat to get nice a fat.
Then they make cocoons that are yellow and white.
Some are left outside to grow and hatch into moths leaving behind the shell.
Others that are weak and not big enough to hatch on their own are boiled.
They boil them to help unwind the threads from the larva. Don't worry the larva aren't wasted... they eat them!
Here is a Thai woman patiently working to boil and unwind the silk from the larva.
This is one of the old fashioned looms used to make rugs and things with the silk after it is bleached and dyed.
Here is a Thai woman patiently working to boil and unwind the silk from the larva. This is one of the old fashioned looms used to make rugs and things with the silk after it is bleached and dyed.
The best way to know if silk is real is to burn a piece of the fiber, if it makes ashes and smells like burnt hair then it is real.
