What Is Silk Thread?
Silk thread, a product of animal origin, began its history in China more than 4,000 years ago. It’s a natural fiber commonly produced by mulberry silkworms. Silkworm farmers carefully facilitate the growth and development of silkworms to harvest the highly prized filament from their cocoons. Despite its thin diameter, silk thread is extremely strong and elastic. Silk, a natural protein filament, is mainly produced in China and India. The cultivation of silk, also known as sericulture, is a labor-intensive job. It requires monitoring the temperature of the silkworm eggs during the incubation period, and then providing the hatched silkworms with a constant food source of mulberry leaves for approximately 30 days. In the larval stage, the silkworms spin their cocoons in one long, continuous thread, reaching up to 4,000 feet (1,200 m) long. This process can take the worms from four to eight days.
