Silk

Silk in China

The Chinese were the first people to learn how to make silk from the cocoons of silkworms. They were making it 5000 years ago.

In China, the city of Suzhou is famous for its fine silk. Silk has been made here for over 4000 years. In earlier times it was shipped to other parts of China, including to the emperors in Beijing, along the Grand Canal. The Grand Canal was an 1800 kilometres long man-made waterway.

This image © [2007] Jupiterimages Corporation

About Silkworms

Silkworms are not worms, they are caterpillars.

Silkworms eat the leaves of Mulberry bushes.

Silkworms shed their skins as they grow.

Silkworms spin a cocoon using just a single thread.

Silk is made from the silken thread of the cocoon.

On silk farms in the countryside around the city of Suzhou, in China, silkworms are kept on trays and fed leaves from mulberry bushes which are grown especially to feed them. Mulberry leaves are the only leaves the silkworms eat.

Silkworms are caterpillars, not worms. They eat and grow, and about every five days they moult. This means that their old skins split and fall off, revealing a larger, new skin underneath.

After about 45 days, the silkworm is ready to become a pupa. It stops eating and spins a cocoon made from a single thread of silk. Inside the cocoon, the silkworm changes and develops into a moth. The moths cut their way out of the cocoon. They mate and the females lay the eggs that will hatch into silkworms to continue the cycle of silk production.

Making silk
1. At the silk farm, about 3/4 of the cocoons are taken into a steam room where the pupae die inside the cocoons before they change into moths.

(Some pupae are are kept alive so that they can change into moths, mate and lay eggs that will become the next lot of silkworms)

This woman is inspecting the cocoons. She will remove any thaThis woman is inspecting the cocoons. She will remove any that are damaged.

3. The cocoons are soaked in hot water to soften the sticky gum that holds the single thread of each cocoon together. Brushes help the workers to find the end of the single thread.

4. The threads of eight cocoons are unwound, all at the same time by a reeling machine. The eight threads are twisted together to form one silk thread.

5. Dyed threads are twisted (plied) together into thicker, stronger threads. These thicker threads can then be woven into cloth.

Silk threads, ready to be dyed and then woven into
cloth

................This woman is using silk to weave a silk carpet.

Silk cloth is used to make clothing such as shirts, blouses, dresses, pyjamas, and underwear.
It is used for upholstery on furniture and to make curtains.

Once it was used to make parachutes, bicycle tyres, and bulletproof vests! Now these things are made of nylon and other artificial materials.

Acknowledge this source in your bibliography like this:
Thomas, R. & Sydenham, S. Silk in China. [Online] www.kidcyber.com.au (2008)

Back to Agriculture and Industry

Back to A Trip to China

Back to Animals