How much do you know about the characteristics of mulberry silk?

mulberry silk duvet

Across the river of history, 4,700 years ago, silkworms were raised and reeled on the shores of Lake Taihu, and silk products travelled around the world along the Silk Road, becoming the link that carried Chinese civilization. 

According to archaeological discoveries, people already used silkworms to make silk products such as Luo, damask, yarn, crepe, silk, brocade and embroidery during the Shang and Zhou periods.

Composition of silk fibre

Silk: It is a long continuous fibre made from the solidification of silk liquid secreted by the silkworm when it is cocooned, also known as “natural silk”. It is one of the earliest animal fibres used by humans. The different food is divided into mulberry silkworm, sericulture, cassava silkworm, camphor silkworm, and silkworms, from a single cocoon drawn from the silk strip, called cocoon silk, from two single fibre by silk glue bonded to cover.

The silk fibre comprises two triangular or semi-circular silk elements covered with silk glue with an oval cross-section. The silk fibre is a protein fibre; silk glue and silk pigment are its main components; silk pigment and silk glue consist of 18 amino acids, accounting for about 97% of the protein. Silk pigment is a spherical protein with good water solubility, silk glue is a spherical protein, and the silk spit by mulberry silkworms can be up to 1000 meters long.

The physical properties of silk

1. Soft and elastic to the touch, refining and degumming the refined silk, the surface is smooth and uniform, polished and elegant. Silk is a porous protein fibre with good moisture absorption, moisture dispersion, and air permeability properties.

2. The strong elongation of silk is high, the breaking strength can reach 3.1~3.6DN/tex, the breaking elongation can reach 15%~25%, the cutting strength per unit cross-sectional area reaches 432.1~471.4N/m², which is close to steel wire. The abrasion resistance of silk is due to other fibres.

3. Silk fibre is very fine, mulberry silk wire density of about 2.5 to 3.5 denier, the thickness of about 1/10 of a hair, after degumming monofilament wire density is less than half of the cocoon silk.

Mulberry silk characteristics

Comfortable performance

Mulberry silk is composed of protein fibres and has excellent biocompatibility with the human body. It has good touch; its coefficient of friction on the human body is lower in all types of fibres, only 7.4%.

Therefore, when our delicate skin and soft and delicate mulberry silk fibre encounter, silk fits the body’s curve, considerate and safe to care for every inch of our skin.

Moisture dispersion

Good moisture absorption and emissivity Silk protein fibre is enriched with many amines (-CHNH), amino (-NH2) and other hydrophilic groups because of its porosity. It is easy for water molecules to diffuse, absorb moisture or disperse moisture in the air and retain a certain amount of moisture. Under normal temperature, it can help the skin keep a certain amount of moisture and not make it too dry.

UV resistant

The tryptophan and tyrosine in silk protein can absorb ultraviolet light.

18 kinds of amino acids

After the biological process, it can be absorbed directly by the body after contact with the skin.

Silk fibre can be used as the main raw material for silk weaving and duvets and hygiene products, medical dressings, baby care products, beauty and skincare products, and other kinds of products. Silk can also be combined with other fibres can combine the advantages of fibres.

Silk is an ecological and pollution-free natural fibre. It has unique properties and incomparable vitality that other fibres and processed products cannot replace.

mulberry silk duvet