Silk is a noble material with wonderful benefits , whether for the skin, hair or improving the quality of sleep.
There are several types of silk , several silk weaving methods and several grades of silk quality.
It is therefore important to take certain parameters into account before making your purchases, to ensure the quality of your investment.
The 3 points that determine the quality of silk
1. The type of silk:
There are different types of silk, but the best silk available is undoubtedly mulberry silk.
Mulberry silk comes from the cocoons of silkworms (Bombyx Mori) which feed exclusively on mulberry leaves. These silkworms are domesticated and their diet is monitored. The cocoons they produce are therefore all of almost similar quality.
The beauty and softness of a silk fabric is measured by the length of its threads. The longer the thread, the better the quality.
The threads used to produce mulberry silk are much longer than those used for any other type of wild silk.
So look for fabrics made from 100% mulberry silk.
Discover the different types of silk
Learn more about mulberry silk
Discover the benefits of mulberry silk
2. The grade of silk:
Once the type of silk has been defined, and you have ensured that your fabric is made from 100% mulberry silk, you will need to check its Grade.
Silk is graded on a scale of A, B and C, and each letter has a rating from 1 to 6.
A and 6 represent the highest quality. C and 1, on the contrary, refer to the lowest quality.
Grade 6A is the best grade of silk available. It refers to a silk woven with very long and very thick threads, and therefore extremely resistant and durable.
3. The silk momme:
The momme represents the weight in grams of silk per square meter of a fabric. One momme equals 4.340 grams of silk per square meter and 30 mommes equals 130.2 grams of silk per square meter.
The higher the mommes, the more durable, thick, tight the silk fabric is, and suitable for intensive use.
from 1 to 16 mommes, silk fabrics will be fine and light. Beyond 19 mommes, the fabrics will be thick and suitable for intensive use.
For accessories such as scarves, sleep masks and scrunchies , 10 to 16 mommes can be perfect.
For everyday clothes, such as shirts, dresses and nighties, you should opt for 19 to 22 mommes.
For bedding, i.e. fitted sheets, flat sheets and silk pillowcases , you should opt for 19 to 30 mommes.
19, 22 and 25 mommes make it possible to produce luxurious and very resistant fabrics. 30 momme nevertheless remains the most luxurious, strongest and most durable fabric available.
All these parameters must be taken into account when choosing your silk fabric. If any of the mentioned parameters is missing the quality of the fabric will suffer.
To recap, a very good quality silk fabric is a fabric made from 100% Grade 6A mulberry silk, with a minimum of 19 mommes.
Weaving techniques and appearance of silk fabric
The weaving method has nothing to do with the quality of the silk used, but it does impact the appearance and texture of the fabric.
The weaving technique can therefore bring out the shiny and luxurious side of silk or give it a duller appearance.
There are several silk weaving techniques, but the method that gives the best result is Satin.
Satin is a type of weaving which involves weaving the threads very tightly to obtain a shiny fabric. The combination of satin and silk produces a fabric of incomparable shine and softness.
If all the quality conditions are met, and in addition your silk has been woven into satin, you will have in your possession the best silk fabric on the market.
Discover the different silk weaving techniques
Learn more about the difference between satin and silk