History of Fashion through textiles Unit study. Module 2: Silk

Transcription

1 History of Fashion through textiles Unit study Module 2: Silk

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3 Introduction to silk Silk is a natural material made from long, silky fibers produced by the silk worm. Silk production is a timeconsuming and expensive effort and therefore is usually only used to make fine things. Silk fibers are shaped like triangles and act like prisms by refracting the light. When the light bounces off the fabric it gives a shiny and shimmery effect. Over 500 different types of silkworms exist and each can produce silk but the finest comes from the Bombyx Moth. Wild silk is produced by other silk caterpillars and is harvested in the same way but the colour and texture is different from natural silk and the fibers are typically shorter. Although spiders also produce silk to make their webs and catch their prey it is not a strong or glossy fiber and it cannot be woven or dyed.

4 Prism math A prism is a solid figure whose bases or ends have the same size and shape and are parallel to one another, and each of whose sides is a parallelogram. For any prism, Volume = Area of the base x height. Determine the volume of this rectangular prism. A triangular prism (like the shape of silk fiber) would have triangle base (like a pup-tent). For this prism Triangular prism

5 History of silk It is believed that silk was first discovered in 6000 BCE when the wife of a Chinese emperor went for a walk among damaged mulberry trees. She noticed glistening threads attached to worms eating the plant leaves (the caterpillar of the Bombyx moth only eats mulberry leaves). For many years the Chinese guarded the secrets of silk production and anyone found to have smuggled cocoons or eggs outside of China was put to death. China maintained a monopoly (sole producer) on silk farming (sericulture) for thousands of years. Eventually, high-quality silk was produced in Thailand, India and eventually Western Europe. Trade routes that ran from Europe to Asia became known as the Silk Road. It was with hopes of finding a quicker route to China, and the trade there, that enabled Christopher Columbus to discover the Americas. Silk was the cloth of royalty and aristocrats. During the Elizabethan Age, silks were a necessary item in the wardrobe of every fashionable woman. But silks were also useful to warriors. Ghengis Khan s army designed thick woven silk undershirts that could protect them from arrows. Today, China is the largest producer of silk with India coming in second. India is the largest user of silk as it is used to make the sari s and ceremonial clothing. Venice, Italy gave Italian silk a reputation as a truly luxurious fabric and the 19 th century, Italy was the third largest producer of silk. Silk is produced in more than thirty countries.

6 Navigate the silk route from China to Europe

7 Processing Silk Most of the world s silk is produced on farms in China, India and Japan. Silk thread is made from the long, sticky fibers that the Bombyx Moth silkworm uses to build their cocoons. It is believed that these caterpillars have been domesticated (farm raised) for so long that they no longer exist in the wild. The Moth lays five hundred or more eggs. The eggs hatch into larvae or caterpillars (one ounce of eggs would yield silk worms). These caterpillars eat mulberry leaves. The caterpillar spins a cocoon, the body inside the cocoon, called pupa, changes and an adult moth crawls out of the cocoon and flies off. To make the cocoon, the silkworm shoots liquid from its spinneret (a hole in its lower lip). The liquid hardens in the air making a fine silk fiber. A gum called sericin binds the threads together. It is the unraveled cocoons that produce the silk thread. Each cocoon produces a continuous filament up to 1 mile (1.6 km) in length. Five to eight of these filaments are twisted together to make one thread. The cocoons are dried in order to kill the pupa inside and then boiled to wash off the sericin and soften the cocoon. Then the fiber is unraveled and wound onto reels. Draw the Life cycle of Bombyx Moth

8 Silk processing Silk Mills Raw silk is what the fibers are called once they have been unraveled from the cocoon and onto a reel. The raw silk is taken off the reels and twisted into bundles called skeins, this process is called throwing. The skeins are then sent to silk mills to be dyed and woven into cloth. From silkworms, 12 pounds (5.5 kg) of raw silk can be produced. The silk can be dyed before weaving or after weaving. The threads are wound onto reels that can be used on special looms. These looms can use up to eight different colours at once which create a pattern as they are woven. Woven silk (that has not been dyed) is washed making it a soft, smooth, cream-colour. The cloth can then be dyed or printed with a pattern then put onto rolls called bolts. Synthetic silk was developed as an alternative to the luxurious and expensive silk fabric. Since it does not have the same characteristics of silk it does not hold colour dyes as well nor does it have the shimmering effect that silk s prism shape creates. Silk processing math It takes 3000 cocoons to create enough silk to make one kimono. 630 cocoons to make one blouse and 110 cocoons to make a silk tie. How many kimonos would silkworms produce? How many blouses? How many ties?

9 Industrialization advances the silk making industry In the 1700s, the industrial revolution began. This was a period in history when machines were developed that could be powered by water or steam instead of people. This revolution greatly advanced the textile industry because it allowed production to speed up. In the mid-1700s Thomas and John Lombe opened the first water-powered silk mill. In 1801 the Jacquard Loom was invented by the son of a silk weaver. This loom wove silk into patterns which before this invention took many workers on regular looms. In 1850 Europe s sericulture industry was struck with disaster when the silkworms developed black spot and died or were unable to spin their cocoons. Luckily, scientist Louis Pasteur was able to discover what was causing the disease and breed disease-free moths. Try weaving a pattern using paper. If you use two different colours it will make for a prettier pattern. Start with a full size paper and cut even slits up and down on the paper (don t cut all the way through the top and bottom). Then, using even sized strips of another colour, weave the coloured paper through the slits on the sheet. Weaving over one, under one will create a typical weave. Try creating a pattern by weaving over two under one, or over three under three. Experiment with various weaves to see what patterns you can create.

10 Properties of silk Silk is one of the strongest natural fibers, but it loses up to 20% of its strength when it is wet and can be weakened when exposed to too much sunlight. It is soft, light and comfortable and has the ability to keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Silk has poor elasticity, which means that when silk cloth is pulled on too much, it will remain stretched out. It is also a poor conductor of electricity which results in static cling. Silk makes a flexible material that leaves it wrinkle resistant. However it may attract insects if it is left dirty. Silk is absorbent which means it can soak up dye and create vivid colours. But it is susceptible to shrinking and should be dry cleaned although there is still a chance of small amount of shrinkage with dry cleaning. Using the properties of silk as clues determine if the following pieces of clothing should be made from silk or not. Sun Hat Silk? Yes No Wedding dress Silk? Yes No Nurses Uniform Silk? Yes No Pajamas Silk? Yes No Swimsuit Silk? Yes No

11 Types of silk Silk quality is determined by its type, weight and weave. The weight of silk is called momme (pronounced momay). The higher momme (mm) weight means a greater amount of silk was used in the weaving process. Silk clothing is often in the 8-12 momme weight range. Chiffon is a very light see-through fabric made with twisted threads. (6 to 8 mm) Satin is soft and very smooth (16mm) Chameuse looks like satin but has a softer drape. (19mm) Shot silk is woven with two different colours making it shimmer in the light. Twill is a dense, double thread weave with fine diagonal lines throughout. Brocade is a heavy woven silk. Organza is a stiff see-through silk. (6mm) Doupioni is silk with a soft bumpy feel. (34mm) Artificial silk is made from the chemical in oil. Nylon (first made about 60 years ago), Rayon and Polyester are examples of artificial silk.

12 Uses of silk Although the silkworm pupae is eaten in some Asian countries, and its high protein content makes it useful in medicines, the main use of silk today is in fashion. Many types of clothing are made from silk fabric including shirts, dresses, pants, socks, scarves, ties and undergarments. Items made from natural silk are more expensive to buy than those made from silk blends (a combination of fabrics like silk and cotton). In the 1700s parachutes were first made from silk. This manufacturing was greatly increased during World War I but by World War II, synthetic fibers had been developed and were now used. In India, many women wear silk saris (dresses wound loosely around the body) and in Japan, many women wear kimonos (a long, belted tunic). Since the sun s heat does not go through silk easily wearing silk helps keep the body cool. It can also trap the body s heat thus keeping the body warm. The necktie has been worn since the 19th century although at first it resembled a scarf hanging down from the neck. Later, the British military created unique regimental ties that brought the tie into the idea of formal wear. The current shape of the tie came into fashion in 1924 and was improved with the invention of the four-in-one-hand knot. How to tie a tie using the four-in-one-hand knot

13 Top hats The top hat over the years has had a variety of names including silk hat, cylinder hat, chimney pot hat or stove-pipe hat. It is a tall, flat-crowned, broad-rimmed hat and was worn by men of all classes. The first silk hat in England was designed by hatter George Dunnage in Originally, the upper classes wore felted beaver hats while the working men wore rabbit fur hats. But during the 19 th century felted beaver fur was replaced by silk hatters plush which was a soft-weave with a long, defined nap (brushed out fibers). During the early Victorian time (approximately 1830) top hats were extremely tall, some even reaching 20 cm (7.9 in.). Later, near the end of the century, they were made smaller (16 and 17 cm/ 6.3 and 6.7 in.). Since around 1920 top hats measure 12 to 13 cm (4.7 to 5.1 in.) in height. As a sign of mourning, a black silk band was wrapped around the hat. The wider the mourning band was, the more important the funeral. Top hats even became part of the uniforms worn by policemen and postmen. Today, top hats are reserved for black tie affairs, magicians and costumes.

14 Can you identify these literary characters in top hats? Include the character name and the title of the book they appear in.

15 Answer sheet prism math Volume = Area of the base x height V = (3 x 4) x 12 V = 12 x 12 V = 144 cm ³ Answer sheet Life cycle

16 Answer sheet - Silk processing math It takes 3000 cocoons to create enough silk to make one kimono. 630 cocoons to make one blouse and 110 cocoons to make a silk tie. How many kimonos would silkworms produce? = 10 : They would produce 10 kimonos. How many blouses? = 47.6 : They would produce 47 blouses How many ties? = : They would produce 272 ties Answer sheet Silk or Not Sun Hat Silk? Yes No Wedding dress Silk? Yes No Nurses Uniform Silk? Yes No Pajamas Silk? Yes No Swimsuit Silk? Yes No

17 Answer sheet - identify these literary characters in top hats? Include the character name and the title of the book they appear in. Mad Hatter Alice s Adventures in Wonderland Ebenezer Scrooge A Christmas Carol Frosty the Snowman Frosty the Snowman Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Uncle Sam Not a literary character but a fictional character to represent the United States in wartime.

18 Resources Websites Books Gleason, Carrie. The Biography of Silk. Crabtree Publishing Company, St. Catherines, ON, 2007 Llewellyn, Claire. Material World Silk. Franklin Watts, Danbury, CT, 2002 Shaskan, Kathy. How Underwear Got Under There: A Brief History. Dutton Children s Books, New York, 2007