The History of the silk fabric is very ancient. Some historians believe that it goes back as far as 8000 years ago, some say around 5000 years ago. But they all agree that it started in China. Originally silk material was monopolized exclusively by the early Chinese royal families. They controlled the production and the only non- royal folks who got to use it were the ones who got it as a gift from the king or queen.
Gradually use of silk spread in Chinese society and ultimately it spread to other cultures. It has been found as far Egypt as long ago as 1000 B.C. Because of silks unique texture and luster, the demand for silk spread far and wide. Chinese merchants took their product further and further from their homeland and thus started the famed road known as the silk route.
Silk is produced from a particular variety of worm, known as the mulberry silk worm. The silk threads are extracted from the cocoons of this worm. They are grown in special farms and the process is called sericulture. What gives the silk thread its special luster is the fiber which has a triangular pattern which reflects the light like a prism. Silks are produced by several insects but only the ones from mulberry silk worm are used in textiles.
China is not the only place where silk production happened in a big way. In ancient times Thailand and India were also major producers of silk. Both of these use the sericulture method for silk production along with wild silk cocoons. In both countries the silk thread is usually bleached with hydrogen peroxide before it is used for textile production. In India also silk has been around f or thousands of years and in both countries silks were seen as something fancy and exotic.
King James the 1st of England introduced silk farming in the North American colonies with the hope that it would stop tobacco production. The attempt failed and it was around 200 years later that silk growing picked up in the town of Patterson NJ, giving it the nick name "Silk City". The natural strength of silk coupled with its soft comfort and warm qualities resulted in its huge popularity as good underwear material.
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