Story of Silk

There have been many imitations for silk over the years, however silk has not been replaced due to its natural unique properties.  Being a relatively expensive fabric, imitations are widespread.  Due to advances in  technology for producing fabric, it can be difficult to differentiate by the naked eye and touch between real silk and its imitation, and it can be hard for the lay man to determine weaving, printing and lustering. There are special devices used to test the fabric for silk purity, however these tests are expensive and not appropriate for common use, so we have put together a few tips to make sure that you do not get your fingers burnt!

(a) Price: Usually the silk price is higher than polyester

(b) However for different silk origins, the weaving can be a measure to compare between real silk and its imitation. Since the silk fabric weaving is handmade of natural fiber and this clearly shows small flaws or joins in the thread along the warp and weft. On the other hand the polyester has a silky feeling and it is machine made fabric and has a perfect surface with no flaws or bungs

(c) Burning test: Here is one of the basic old method to differentiate between the real silk fiber and its imitation: take two threads of real silk and light them with a flame. It will leave a fine ash and smell like burned hair. When the flame is taken away, the burning will stop. On the other hand if you lit the imitation silk, it will drip and burn with black smoke. It will continue to burn after the flame is taken away.