Silk Guide

Handmade vs Machine Comforters

Generally speaking, handmade silk floss filling is superior to machine-made fillings because:

– Material:

Due to the delicate nature of silk fibers, high-end silk floss is usually treated by experienced silk workers who know how to preserve the long stranded fibers, as machines are capable of breaking the fibers with ease should the process go wrong at any point. Thus, a handmade comforter usually implies the quality of the silk used is higher so the manufacturer is willing to spend more to hire experienced workers in order to minimize the risks of damaging the silk in the process of manufacturing.

– Human Touch:

Even if the manufacturing process is carried out exactly as instructed, machines simply lack the subtlety of human hands. There is nothing that knows better about human comfort than humans themselves, and for something you sleep with every night, comfort is most certainly the first and foremost point of concern.

Handmade Comforters

– Filled using long fiber Mulberry silk, layered in a grid pattern.

– Tacked, not boxed stitched. Tacking the silk down eliminates cold spots and the damage box stitching causes to the silk fiber.

– Less airborne fibers because only long fiber silk is used.

– No lumps caused by silk filling clumping up.

Machine-made Comforters

– Silk fiber stuffed, not layered into a casing.

– Box stitched. Box stitching damages the silk fiber and creates cold spots throughout the comforter, undermining a silk comforter’s heat regulating ability.

– Short fiber silk or a silk mix is used instead of long fibre silk. Short fibet silk shards can become airborne and cause irritations to allergy sufferers. Short fiber fillings are also less effective at heat insulation and regulation.

Several Silk Types You Need to Know

Generally speaking, there are about 35 types of silk fibers. A majority of consumers are confused about numerous silk products. Today, I will introduce you to some basic and most commonly-seen silk types that we feel you need to know.

Mulberry silk
Mulberry silk is the long silk fiber produced by matured and domesticated silkworm when they secrete liquid silk, also known as “natural silk fiber”. It is the earliest animal fiber used by human being as well as the most genuine silk fiber for all kinds of silk clothes, which is lightweight, soft and absorptive of moisture. In addition, mulberry silk contains over 18 amino acids and protein fibers which is healthy for human skin and hair. For example, the hygroscopicity of mulberry silk comforter is 1.5 time higher than that of cotton comforters. Besides, mulberry silk is pretty hypoallergenic, and as a consequence, many dermatologists recommend silk bedding and apparel for aged and sick people. Compared to other silk fibers, mulberry silk is more luxurious and breathable. It may not that durable, but who’s going to use the same bedding for life?

Tussah Silk
Tussah silk, also known as ‘shantung’, is a type of wild silk, that is produced by silkworms that feed on oak and juniper leaves.
As the worm is not grown in a controlled environment, the moth hatches from the cocoon and interrupts the filament length, resulting in short and coarse fibers, instead of long and lustrous ones. Normally, it is widespread in China and other Asian countries like India, difficult to dye and most often available in its natural color, a creamy tan.
It is also lightweight and airy, as well as dressy, giving cool comfort to the wearer. Moreover, it does not wrinkle easily which makes it suitable for travelling.

Charmeuse Fabric

Charmeuse silk, technically speaking, does not refer to a type of material as Mulberry silk does; it is a silk fabric made with a particular way of weaving, allowing for extra luster and shine on the front side in exchange for a dull finish at the back. Charmeuse silk can be made from all kinds of different silk including Mulberry silk and is often used on products that does not require showcasing of both sides of the fabric such as pillowcases and duvet covers. Charmeuse silk offers better drape than crêpe de chine and works well for scarves, blouses and lingerie.

Chiffon Silk
A light, matt fabric made from fine twisted yarns, spaced out to make the fabric transparent. It is extremely soft and elastic, highly breathable and comfortable.
Dimension is added to garments by the creation of billows of fabric. Unless it is used for scarves, garments with chiffon normally require lining or backing.

Crêpe de Chine
A lightweight fabric made by mulberry silk fibres, where part of them are twisted clockwise and others in a counter-clockwise direction. These fibres are then woven in a plain-weave fabric. The twisted fibres give crêpe its distinctive ‘pebbly’ look and feel.

Comes in many different varieties – crêpe de Chine, Moroccan crêpe and crêpe georgette. It is comfortable and breathable and wrinkles easily at the rate of 8%.

Dupion Silk Fabric
Doupion silk is produced from two silkworms that spin a cocoon together. This makes a strong double-thread silk, usually resulting in a rough yarn and irregularity in sheerness or weight.Black specks which occasionally appear in the fabric are part of the original cocoon of the silk worm. Removing them would both weaken the fabric and destroy part of its beauty and character. They are inherent to dupion silk fabric and should not be considered as defects in weaving. Hence, doupion silk is durable and lustrous, and resists wrinkles to some extent.

Habotai Silk
It is also known as China silk, Habutai, Pongee. The “classic” silk fabric, was first used to line kimonos, with plain-weave fabric.Its weight can range from 5 mm to the heavier 12 mm. Most scarves are made of 8mm Habotai. Soft and lightweight, Habotai silk is a kind of smooth fabric and has a beautiful drape and smooth surface.

 

Identify Real Silk

1. Flames:

– Genuine quality silk: Burning genuine silk produces a smell very similar to that of burning human hair. The flame is close to invisible when burning the edge of the real silk fabric. Very soon after the flame source is taken away from the fabric, the silk will self-extinguish.
– Fake silk: Most fake silk are in fact petroleum based polyester products. When burned, these materials tend to combust rapidly in intense flames, and give a smell of burning plastic.

2. Ashes

– Genuine silk: The ash from burning is black, crispy and turns to powder easily when grinded.
– Fake silk: The ash of fake silk tend to be sticky, twisted, and difficult to break apart.

 

Silk Comforter Hints

What you should know….

With so many silk comforters on the market it can be a bit of a head-scratcher trying to decide which ones are worth purchasing and which ones are not. Listed below are a few criteria to look out for.

Long Strand Mulberry Silk

Always look for comforters filled with long strand Mulberry silk, and check the percentage of silk filling. Many suppliers tend to use a small amount of long strand Mulberry silk (often on the most visible part of the floss filling), and fill the remainder with cheaper short-fiber silk while advertising the whole thing as 100% Mulberry silk filled. This brings the cost of the comforter down, but also significantly weakens thermal regulation capabilities of the comforter, which renders the item ineffective since its job is to keep you warm before everything else.

No Pockets/Filling Fixation

Unlike down or polyester comforters, silk comforters are filled with sheets of long fiber Mulberry silk layered on top of each other in a special way, which means the comforter is rarely compartmentalized unlike its down/feather filled counterparts; because of this, make sure you check if the filling is properly tacked to the inside of the comforter shell, as untacked silk floss fillings will move around in the shell and bunch up.

Color of the Silk

Silk, being a natural product, should have an ivory hue to it and be slightly iridescent. Many manufacturers bleach their silk to enhance the appearance of their products as well as remove some of the odor of the residual serecin (natural silk glue). However, although bleaching makes the silk look nicer appearance-wise, the nice looks will be short-lived as bleach-induced fiber damage will soon take its toll on the fabric, rendering it brittle and easy to break. Good silk filled comforters such as ours should always have a small zip opening on the shell of the comforter, allowing easy inspection of the silk filling.

Silk Linen Hints

There is a vast amount of silk bed linen on the market today with a huge range in both quality and price. Knowing what to look for can be a daunting task. Here are a few of our FAQs that, if followed, will ensure the silk bedding product you buy will last.

Know what you want & need

Always aim for 100% long strand Mulberry silk. There are a variety of different types of silk on the market including Mulberry, Tussah, and synthetic silk, but only 100% Mulberry silk consists of fibers that are long and continuous strands, and are smooth and lustrous. Wild silk, commonly known as Tussah silk is often passed off as Mulberry silk but a simple touch on the material and you will immediately realize the difference in the quality if you have experienced Mulberry silk before, as Tussah silk is much rougher and doesn’t feel nearly as flowy due to having significantly shorter strands that vary in length..

Habotai Silk, the name of the weave with which Tussah silk is usually made is sometimes used as the name of the silk fabric. It does not have the same durability as 100% Mulberry silk due to having shorter strands. Only 100% mulberry silk can offer the consistency & durability required in quality silk bed linen.

What is the Momme?

You may have heard of Momme before if you have had previous experience purchasing silk items. Momme is the unit used to determine the physical weight of silk. The basic measurement for momme is weighing a piece of silk that is 100 yards long and 45 inches wide. If the total weight comes to sixteen pounds then the silk will be graded as 16 momme. Heavier silk is given higher momme weight numbers. A higher momme weight indicates the fabric is made of higher quality silk fibers that are usually thicker and more uniformly rounded, and that the weave used is dense, making the overall fabric more durable and structurally intact.

What are the Momme weights of Lilysilk?

Lilysilk offers 3 different momme weight classes. Starting from entry-level 19 momme, Lilysilk also offers intermediate 22 momme and luxury 25 momme weight classes for your choosing. Note that silk with momme weight lower than 19 are not suitable for the production of quality silk bedding linen.

How do I iron my silk?

Ironing silk can be tricky because of the heat involved. Permanent damage may be caused if one is not careful. Silk is best ironed when slightly damp, with the iron put on a cool setting. Below is the details steps to follow when you need to iron your silk sheets and/or sleepwear:

1. Preparing your silk
Silk is best when ironed damp in order to minimize the effects of the iron’s heat. We recommend ironing right after a wash.
– If you handwash your silk, squeeze very gently after rinsing to remove excess water from the fabric. Remember: DO NOT WRING/TWIST the silk, it may break silk threads and cause stretch/tear.
– If you use a washing machine, you may iron directly.

2. Other preprations before ironing
– Make sure the surface of your iron is clean. If your iron is stained with metal stains, you may remove them by applying a baking soda solution. DO NOT IRON if your iron is dirty or have metal stains as it may permanently ruin the silk.
– Set the iron to be either on a delicate or silk setting, or the lowest setting if there is no specific settings for silk.
– Prepare a pure cotton sheet of white or natural color and lay the sheet on the ironing board. This is to prevent coloring of the ironing board to leach onto your silk, which may cause permanent damage to your silk.

3. Ironing your silk
– Silk fabrics tend to use weaves that give a shiny surface and a dull, matte back. Always iron the backside.
– You are going to iron silk part by part. Make sure the part you are ironing is smoothed out without wrinkles.
– You may iron the silk directly if the setting is on silk, but generally we recommend using a press cloth to cover the area you are aiming to iron to prevent potential damage. A small piece of thin cotton cloth would be ideal for the press cloth in this case.
– Press the iron to the surface of the silk (or the piece of press cloth) to start ironing. Keep the iron moving to avoid local overheating which causes silk fiber deformations.
– Once you finish ironing one part of the silk, smooth out another part and move the press cloth over to start ironing until you are done.

To summarize, some points to watch out for are:
– Only iron when silk is damp.
– DO NOT WRING/TWIST silk to remove excessive water.
– Clean your iron beforehand.
– Use an undyed sheet between the ironing board and the silk.
– Iron the inside (dull side) of your silk.
– Do not leave the iron in one place for too long.

We recommend you iron your silk after every wash or two washes. Regular ironing helps preserve the natural sheen of silk and may extend shelf life of silk considerably.

How do I dry my silk?

The recommended way to dry silk is by hanging it in a place with good air circulation. Air drying silk best allows the silk to retain its shape afterwards. Avoid contact with direct sunlight, as prolonged exposure to direct sunlight can damage silk fibers as well as cause colors to fade.

Drying machines and hair dryers can also be used, however these are not recommended as they may cause permanent damage to the silk.

  • For machine drying, leave the drying machine on cool setting and tumble dry. Keep drying time as little as possible, as the friction involved may cause breakage in silk fibers or white streaks.
  • For hair dryers, make sure you use a heatless setting. Continuous heating from a hair dryer would cause brittleness in silk fiber and dull the perfect luster.

How to care for your silk bedding & clothes

Although we recommend that our pure silk product be dry cleaned, cleaning and washing silk at home is surprisingly easy if certain precautions are observed.

I.Silk Sheets and Clothing

This category includes silk pillowcases, fitted sheet, flat sheet, bed-skirt, duvet cover, sleepwear, lingerie, sleep cap and shirt.

Hand Wash At 30℃
Use lukewarm water: 30C/86F is the ideal temperature for silk to be hand-washed
No Heat
Heat ruins the fabric structure of silk
Mild Cleaning Agents
Use Special Detergent for Silk. We recommend TENESTAR as the brand of specialized silk cleaner agent for our products. Woolite and other mild detergents can also be used but not recommended.
Do Not Use Bleaches 
Avoid detergents with enzymes, bleaches, and brighteners at all cost.
Rinse with a few drops of vinegar
A few drops of distilled vinegar can help dissolve the chemical traces (e.g. sweat/soap residue) on the silk.
Rinse quickly and don’t over soak.
Do Not Tumble Dry 
Never tumble dry silk. Hang dry if possible, however, avoid direct sunlight exposure.
Cold Iron As Needed
Irons should be set on the lowest possible heat setting, and if the iron has a particular silk setting, that is even better. Moving the iron back and forth can stretch and pull the silk out of shape. The iron should never rest on any spot for too long, in case of burning silk fabric structure.

For those without the time, patience or just physically unable to hand-wash silk, our products can withstand machine washing as well. Of course, there is more risk involved, and certain precautions must be taken to minimize them.
Machine wash in lukewarm water (30°C) on most gentle cycle available.
Most washing machines should have a “delicate” setting. Some machines even have a silk setting specifically for cleaning silk.
Minimize spin time
Spinning can be very dangerous for silk fabric as the forces involved can shear weaker silk fibers.
Use protective casing
To best avoid shearing and tearing of silk fibers, it is recommended that you use some cloth casing that could let water through and yet keeps the silk fabric in one piece.

Machine-wash tends to be the most practical way to clean silk as it is fast and requires little attention, but in fact, you should be even more careful than when you hand-wash, as there are many ways the machine can tear your silk to pieces if you do not treat the wash cautiously.

II.Silk Basics

For washable duvets or pillows, we recommend machine washing. And you can follow the rules above. To keep them warm, please don’t do the washing too often. Just air in well-circulated areas 2~3 times every month (avoid direct sunlight exposure).

For those basics that couldn’t be washed, always protect them with a removable and washable cover. You can also do spot-clean with lukewarm water and hang dry after spot-cleaned. If in need of thorough cleaning, please use professional dry clean only.

Tip: For daily maintenance, simply turn your comforter over towards the end of the bed instead of after you get up and let the fresh air or the sunshine in (if your bed is near a window) for 10-20 minutes.This helps freshen your comforter considerably.

III.Silk Blanket

We recommend professional dry cleaning for silk blanket as silk blanket needs to avoid direct touch with water. And please store it in a cool, dry place.

Correct care will help your silk products will last for years without losing their quality. Learning how to wash silk in the washing machine or by hand is simple-just observe these considerations and you will enjoy your silk products for a very long time.