Learn more about silk
The main component of real silk is pure natural animal protein fiber. Its composition is similar to that of human skin. It contains 18 kinds of amino acids, which have the effects of windproof, dehumidification, calming, nourishing and balancing skin.
With the improvement of living standards, many relatives and friends around buy silk clothes from time to time, so I decided to investigate how silk is used to measure its quality?
- The weight per unit area of silk affects the quality of silk
Momme is a unit of silk thickness. The larger the momme, the thicker the silk fabric. Relatively speaking, the fabric is easier to care for and less likely to loosen.
Silk momme refers to the weight of the fabric. Generally speaking, the greater the weight, the more silk raw materials used, and the higher the cost.
Generally, silk fabrics are divided into 12MM, 16MM, 19MM, 25MM, 30MM, 40MM, and 60MM.
The formula for calculating momme number is: grams per square meter/4.3056. For example: a material with a width of 1 meter weighs 52 grams per meter, then the thickness of this material can be calculated as 52/1/4.3056≈12 mm.
If the material with a length of 1.4 meters weighs 181 grams per meter, it can be calculated that the thickness of this material is 181/1.4*1/4.3056≈30 mm.
Silk fabrics used "silk" to represent the thickness a long time ago, but this method of expression is not convenient enough, and can only represent the thickness of the fabric alone, so the industry has designed a unit for silk, that is momme. Momme can not only represent the thickness of the fabric, but also conveniently calculate the weight of the fabric.
- The source of silk affects the quality of silk
Real silk is a name for silk products relative to imitation silk, and generally refers to mulberry silk and tussah silk.
The difference between tussah silk and mulberry silk:
Source: Silkworms of mulberry silk feed on mulberry leaves; silkworms of tussah silk feed on oak leaves; silkworms belong to the "Briberidae" of the "Lepidoptera", and tussah silkworms belong to the "Macromothidae" of the "Lepidoptera" , strictly speaking, they are two kinds of insects.
Color: Mulberry silk is milky white, slightly light beige, invisible to the naked eye; tussah silk is mostly dark brown, grayish blue, and will turn pale after treatment, and the texture of the silk is disordered.
Texture: Mulberry silk is soft, as thin as cicada's wings, and as thin as yarn; tussah silk is thick, fluffy, crisp, and has good warmth retention.
- The variety of silk production technology affects the ease of care of clothes.
Silk content: On the ingredient label of silk clothing, it is generally marked: 100% SILK represents the percentage of silk products. The strength of the brand can be seen from the label of a piece of clothing, and it is also a standard for screening silk fabrics from the side.
Variety: The types of silk fabrics include crepe, satin, damask, yarn, Luo, silk, gauze, spinning, etc. The texture and effect of different varieties are different. The types of silk fabrics include spinning, crepe, satin, damask, gauze, Luo, velvet, brocade, gauze, woolen and so on.
①. Crepe material: After high-temperature setting, it has good wrinkle resistance, high printing and dyeing saturation, and bright color.
Crepe de chine is characterized by two-way fine crepe on the silk surface, so it is called crepe. The warp of crepe chine is 20/22D2 threads combined with untwisted mulberry silk, the weft thread is 20/22D2-4 threads combined with S-direction strong twist and Z-direction strong-twist mulberry silk, plain weave interlaced gray silk , after refining and degumming.
Due to the interlacing of the weft threads in the S and Z twist directions and the untwisted warp threads, the weft directions are twisted in their respective twist directions, so two kinds of crepes with different twist directions and fine twisted aesthetics are reflected on the silk surface.
Crepe de chine is available in pure white, dyed, and printed. It is suitable for men's and women's shirts, and can also be used for various embroidered clothes. It has a wide range of uses.
The advantage of heavy crepe is that the fabric has better drape, stronger wrinkle resistance, less snagging, more durable and easy to take care of, and it has a natural luster when held in the hand, but it is not as bright as satin.
②. Georgette: There are thin and transparent Georgette and burnt-out Georgette, as well as thick and waxy heavy Joe.
The characteristic of georgette is that it is light and sheer. It can be used as a skirt in summer and has an elegant beauty. However, this kind of fabric is easy to snag and wrinkle, so it is not durable.
Heavy Joe is a finely woven Georgette yarn, which is denser and heavier, so it is much better in terms of texture, drape, wrinkle resistance, and durability.
③. Satin
Sambo Satin: Satin texture clear, antique, very noble.
Plain crepe satin: The bright satin surface is very noble, smooth to the touch, and dense in structure; the shrinkage rate of this fabric is relatively large, and the luster decreases after being put into the water.
This kind of fabric is easy to wrinkle, and it can only shine perfectly when it is ironed smoothly.
Although the luster of real silk satin is bright, it is soft and feels smooth and soft, while the luster of imitation satin satin is more dazzling and feels rough to the touch.
Elastic crepe satin: it is a new fabric, the composition is 90%-95% mulberry silk, 5%-10% spandex, which is an interwoven fabric. It is characterized by good elasticity, comfort, good drapability and relatively small shrinkage.
④. Shuanggong silk/silk: Silk reeled from mulberry silkworm Shuanggong cocoons. It is also possible to mix a certain proportion of the upper cocoon or the second cocoon into the cocoon batch of the double palace cocoon for mixed reeling.
Double palace silk: It is characterized by thick strands and many knots, with obvious irregular bumps on the surface.
The texture of double palace silk is crisp and shiny, but the luster is not as bright as satin, but rather restrained and low-key, which is very high-end. Because of its crisp texture, it is generally used as dresses and autumn clothes, and it is less used in summer.
Double palace silk: It is a plain silk fabric that uses ordinary mulberry silk as the warp and double palace mulberry silk as the weft. Because the weft is thick and the warp is thin, the double palace silk strips are irregularly distributed with pimple-like bamboo knots, so the fabric has a unique style. According to the dyeing and finishing process, it can be divided into two types: raw fabric dyeing and cooked dyeing. In cooked weaving, there are flashing double palace silk and lattice double palace silk with contrasting colors of warp and weft.
The surface of duogong silk is rough and uneven, the texture is tight and crisp, and the color and light are soft. It is mainly used as the fabric of summer shirts, skirts and coats for men and women.
⑤. Warp knitting: soft, delicate, soft and comfortable. It is a new and special fabric for knitting. It has high technological content and is a high-end boutique.
⑥. Taffeta
Taffeta: Taffeta, also known as taffeta silk, is a kind of cooked high-grade silk fabric woven with plain weave. In the fabric, the warp is made of two twisted colored cooked silks and the weft is made of three twisted colored cooked silks, and the warp and weft density are higher, and the warp density is greater than the weft density.
According to the raw materials used, there are silk taffeta, double palace silk taffeta, silk and cotton interwoven taffeta, silk weft taffeta, rayon taffeta, and taffeta.
According to the weaving process, there are plain taffeta, two-color flash taffeta, striped taffeta, and jacquard taffeta with jacquard looms.
Taffeta is tight and clean, the silk surface is flat, smooth and delicate, the hand feels stiff, the color is bright, the color light is soft and bright, and it is not easy to stain dust. It is mainly used as women's spring and autumn clothing, festival dresses, down jacket fabrics, etc.
⑦. Jacquard silk (brocade)
Jacquard silk is a kind of silk satin that is woven into various patterns by interlacing warp and weft threads with a jacquard machine.
Among them, the jacquard on the warp line of crepe chine is called crepe de chine, the crepe satin on the silk warp line is called crepe satin, and the jacquard on the warp line is called flower spinning and so on.
There are also jacquards on various silk and satin warps, such as brocade, soft satin, rich fabric, large silk, etc., especially there is a kind of silk printed on jacquard silk, that is, the silk satin combined with jacquard printing.
All kinds of jacquard silk can meet the needs of various internal and external clothing and decorations. They are used for underwear, coats and dresses, for quilts, bedspreads and chair covers, and can also be used for pasting walls and various decorations.
⑧. Silk
Also known as plain silk, it is made of mulberry silk as the warp and weft with a certain twist, and is woven with plain weave. The warp and weft density are relatively sparse, the fabric is light and thin, the hand feels flat and slightly rigid, and the fabric has clear holes. It is mainly used for women's evening dresses, wedding dresses, costumes, etc.
⑨. Spinning
Spinning is a kind of silk fabric woven with mulberry silk. The texture of the fabric is compact and clean, soft to the touch, soft in luster, smooth and comfortable to wear. The heavy ones are mainly used as fabrics for summer shirts, skirts and children's clothing; the medium ones can be used as clothing linings; the light ones can be used as petticoats, headscarves, etc.
⑩. What about
It uses various structures and thicker warp and weft threads, which has a rich texture and a wool-like fabric.
⑪. Aya
The twill weave or variable twill weave is used for damask, and the silk surface has obvious oblique lines. The ground pattern of damask fabrics is a variety of warp twill weaves or floral plain fabrics made mainly of warp twill weaves mixed with other weaves.
The common varieties of damask fabrics include floral silk damask, wide damask, interwoven damask, nylon cotton damask, etc. Su damask is a silk fabric made of pure mulberry silk. It is light and thin, and is used for mounting tables and pictures. Other damask fabrics The shade is beautiful, the handle is soft, and it can be used as clothing for all seasons.
⑫ Luo
Luo silk uses the weaving method of Luo silk, so that the floral fabrics with yarn holes on the surface of the fabric are collectively called Luo silk. The varieties of Luo silk fabrics include horizontal silk, straight silk, and flower. Luo silk is produced in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, so it is also called Hangluo.
Due to its long history and high quality, Hangluo has become a traditional famous product of Luo fabrics and is well-known both at home and abroad. It is a pure silk fabric, which is characterized by elegant fabric style, tight texture, strong texture, ventilated yarn holes, cool, comfortable and cool to wear, and is a good summer clothing material.
⑬. Velvet
Velvet should be velvet, and the fabric with fluff or loops on the silk surface.
Silk velvet is a high-quality fabric for clothes, and it is mostly made into high-end clothing such as suit jackets, dresses, or suits, because it presents a good sense of luster.
- The appearance of silk affects the quality of silk
Not all silkworm cocoons are suitable for making silk clothes. There will also be a series of screening to distinguish the good and bad according to the quality, generally divided into:
- Upper cocoon: the source of high-grade silk;
Ordinary silkworm cocoon: this kind of cocoon is called or Baichang silk, which is generally used as silk fabric;
- Shuanggong cocoon and secondary cocoon: refers to the cocoon made of two silkworm cocoons together. When making silk quilts, the silk pulled out by this kind of cocoon is more criss-crossed, and the firmness and warmth retention performance are very good;
- Diseased cocoon: This kind of cocoon is to select the remaining problem cocoons. Some manufacturers will shoddy and use it to make silk and silk fabrics, the quality of which is worse than that of double palace cocoons.
In order to save costs, some merchants will purchase mixed low-quality silk, but now that the fabric technology has improved, it is difficult for non-experts to distinguish.
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