Article Views:
104
Ezine ready page
Ezine ready page
Posted on April 1, 2006 by Joanne Dorin | Posted under Shopping and Product Reviews
Long Silk Jacket: Why You Need One
|
A lined long silk jacket with a zip front is just exquisite. Some are embroidered or embellished with other things. They can be casual or dressy depending on how you accessorize them. There are many options for style and comfort. A long silk jacket is strong because of the natural fiber it is made from. Silk is a natural protein fiber that can be woven into textiles. It is obtained from the cocoon of silkworm larvae reared in captivity. The process of harvesting the silk from the cocoon kills the larvae. The shimmering appearance for which silk is prized comes from the fibers' triangular prism-like structure, which allows silk cloth to refract incoming light at different angles. Silk for a long silk jacket was first developed in China. You will find many oriental jackets still made in this fabric. Legend gives credit to a Chinese Empress. Silk was first reserved for the Emperors of China, though its use spread gradually through Chinese culture both geographically and socially. From there, silken garments began to reach regions throughout Asia. Silk rapidly became a popular luxury fabric in the many areas accessible to Chinese merchants, because of its texture and luster. Because of the high demand for the fabric, silk was one of the staples of international trade prior to industrialization. The Emperors of China kept the knowledge of the silk culture a secret from other nations, in order to maintain its monopoly on its production. This effort had mixed success. Wild silks make a beautiful long silk jacket and are produced by a number of undomesticated silkworms. Aside from differences in colors and textures, they all differ in one major respect from the domesticated varieties. The cocoons, which are gathered in the wild, have usually already been chewed through by the pupa or caterpillar before the cocoons are gathered and thus the single thread which makes up the cocoon has been cut into shorter lengths. A variety of wild silks have been known and used in China, India and Europe from early times, although the scale of production has always been far smaller than that of cultivated silks. Wild silks are produced by caterpillars other than the mulberry silkworm. The term wild implies that these silkworms are not capable of being domesticated and artificially cultivated like the mulberry worms. The beautiful and expensive golden colored wild silk called Muga is produced only in Burma. This silk has always been highly prized, not only for its beautiful natural golden sheen, which actually improves with aging and washing, but for the fact that it is the strongest natural fiber known. Long silk jackets made out of it outlast those made of ordinary silk , commonly lasting fifty years or more. About The Author: Joanne is an author of Decorz.com. If you're looking for more silk items & decoration ideas for your home and garden visit http://www.decorz.com. |
Tags:
