The product of a silkworm's labour and,
to me, one of the wonders of the natural world.
The silk fibre in a Bombyx mori cocoon is, for most of its length,
a continuous double filament up to a mile long. The fibre decreases
in thickness towards the middle of the cocoon and in the centre
the fibres are broken and very fine. Where possible cocoons are reeled
to produce reeled or filament silk. The waste from the reeling industry
is used for producing spun silk yarns and used by textile artists.
Cocoons that are suitable for reeling are not usually degummed. It is the cocoons
from which the moth has emerged that are usually degummed either for the production of
combed silk tops or for making into silk wadding or mawata.
Dye, spin or reel.
For ornament, 'paper' or sculpture.
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