The discovery of silk has a very interesting legend that is associated with is. It all begins in 2640 BC when the 14-year-old wife, Xilingji (His-ling-chi) of China’s third emperor, Huangdi (Huang Ti) is in the palace garden making tea. She accidentally dropped a silkworm cocoon into a cup of hot water and discovered that the silk fiber could be loosened and unwound. By taking more cocoons and placing them in hot water she was able to take the single fibers and wind them together to create a thread that was strong enough to be woven into cloth.

There are two main types of silk that exist in the world. The first one is raw silk and this comes from the silkworm species Bombyx mori. The other main type of silk that exists in the world is known as wild silk or Tussah. Raw silk is a very luxurious fabric with a luxurious hand. It is extremely durable, and it can be easily dyed but as for overall strength raw silk is not the strongest of the different types of silks. The way that raw silk is manufactured is listed in the paragraph above. The tussah silk is considered to be created organically because they are not being harvested. This type of silk is collected in tropical or semi-tropical forests after the moths have emerged from the cocoons. Since this occurs the silk is not as fine as pure silk but it is a lot stronger and durable. It is not as pure white as raw silk but rather has a beige to brownish tone depending on the leaves that the larvae ate before creating its cocoon. The production of the tussah silk is different compared to that of the raw silk. First the cocoons are softened using a special method involving soap and then the fibers are handspun into thread. These are the major differences between two different types of silk.

It is not certain if this is the way that silk was truly discovered but it is an interesting story. Yet, recent archeological finds have proven that silk manufacturing is certainly much older than recorded history. For many centuries, it was the Chinese nobility’s most closely guarded secret. Only nobles of the Chinese society were allowed to wear anything made out of silk, and if any foreigners entered the Forbidden City in China anything that was rela

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