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Sericulture
Sericulture
Stages of
Production
The silk moth lays eggs.
The eggs hatch, and the larvae feed on mulberry leaves.
When the silkworms are about 10,000 times heavier than
Life cycle of
Silkworm
Method of Silk
production
STEP 1
Young silk worms prefer
tender young mulberry
leaves fed 3 times a day.
On average, 36,000
worms consume 1 ton of
mulberry leaf over their
lifetime. The silk worms
increase in length by
more than 40 times
(approx. 3 inches) within
20 days of their feeding
time and shed their skin 4
times in the process.
When the silk worms are
ready to spin, they are
put into a round basket
covered by cloth to keep
them free from flies.
STEP 2
After the worms are
completely
transformed into
cocoons, the cocoons
are put into hot,
almost boiling water.
The filaments from
several cocoons are
then reeled together
on a wooden spindle
into a uniform strand
of raw silk. Each Thai
silk cocoon can give
about 700 yards long
of filament.
STEP 3
Thai silk yarns must be
washed and degummed
by immersing the skeins
in large tubs of hot
water then dried under
the sun. Dyes are
prepared in a dye bath.
Once the dye is ready,
the clean yarns are then
immerse in the dye bath
and boil with constant
rotation of the yarn. The
dyed yarns are hung in
the shade to dry before
they can be spun.
STEP 4
Thai silk yarns are then
spun by hands on
wooden or plastic tubes
to be prepared for warp
or weft. To make heavier
silk, two or more weft
yarns are reeled
together by hands to
make a thicker silk yarn.
The more number of weft
yarn reeled together, the
heavier the silk fabric
becomes. The term "ply"
i.e. 2-ply, 4-ply, 6-ply is
often used to indicate
the weight of Thai silk
fabric.
STEP 5
After the warp and weft are
prepared, the loom is set
and the weaving can begin.
Most of the Thai silk is
hand-woven which gives it a
lustrous sheen and slightly
uneven texture that
distinguishes it from the
sleek machine-woven fabric.
Weaving silk by hand loom
is a rather time consuming
and require special skill. A
skilled weaver can weave a
few inches a day on a very
complicated weave. A fast
weaver can weave up to a
maximum of 9-10 yards a
day for a simple plain
weave.