Waste silk arising during sericulture and silk reeling is gathered together, degummed, combed to straighten the fibres, cut into 'staple' lengths and dressed by passing through progressively finer combs until it is in the form of a silk top or sliver. The length of the staple varies from 6 - 22cm (2.5 - 7.5 inches), the best quality having the longest staple, the highest lustre and the least amount of foreign matter. In China very thick silk tops, usually about 3 metres (10 feet) long, are folded into tidy packages known as silk bricks. Cultivated silk bricks normally weigh 150 grams and tussah bricks 125 grams.

Untuck the end and unfold the package to use a brick. It will then resemble a thick top and can be used in the same way by gently pulling a section from the end of the top. Make sure your hands are far enough apart not to be holding two ends of the same fibre as this will prevent the cut fibres slipping past each other. Keep the fibres parallel to maintain the lustre however you use the tops. When spinning, fibres are kept parallel by using a worsted technique.

Pearly white through natural creams to a rich honey colour.
Use for lustre in 'paper', spinning, felt, collage and embroidery.

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