Silk comforter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A silk comforter (絲綿被) is a luxurious bed covering, most often used as a duvet, and also commonly referred to as a silk duvet, silk quilt, or silk blanket. Originally from China, silk comforters are now more common throughout the world. Their increasing popularity stems from a combination of factors, including their superior thermal properties, their light weight and supple drape, and their natural hypoallergenic properties. The opening of the Chinese market to the world has also played a significant role in the spread of silk comforters, as China is both the world's biggest silk producer and silk comforter manufacturer. In the past, only the rich could afford a comforter with silk filling. However, with recent manufacturing improvements, especially in mechanized production, as well as a range of designs making use of various grades of silk, the silk comforter market has developed to the point where some type of silk comforter is affordable by typical middle-class families
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[edit] Production and processing
Silk comes from the cocoons of the silkworm, which feeds off Mulberry trees in subtropical climates. When the cocoon is boiled, the hard cocoon becomes a loose ball of strong, flexible filament measuring over 1,000 meters. Usually, this ball is uncoiled and wrapped onto a spindle for use in the textile industry making everything from clothing to rugs. During silk comforter production, however, the silk filament is not unravelled, but rather stretched into a flat tangled web and layered to form silk floss.
The cocoons are first boiled to loosen the thread and remove the silkworm. Each cocoon is expanded outwardly by hand on a U-shaped wooden rack, and the ball of thread becomes a sheet of tangled fibers. This sheet is then hand-stretched again on a larger rack along with several other cocoons to make a thick, cottony bundle called silk floss. It takes hundreds of these bundles to make a silk comforter.
Once enough silk cocoons have been stretched into bundles, the comforter begins to take shape. Workers grab the edges of the bundle and stretch it wide to match the dimensions of the desired comforter, and layer by layer the comforter begins to take shape. It can take anywhere between 100 and 400 of these thin layers to make a comforter, depending on bed dimensions and desired thickness. Since it takes many cocoons to make each layer, a silk comforter may be composed of thousands silk cocoons.
Once the silk fiber layers are stacked together, they are sealed inside silk or cotton fabrics and the comforter is complete. The result is extremely light-weight despite the silk comforter's thickness. Silk comforters provide excellent insulating properties similar to down, but tend to be less bulky than down duvets. Silk is a breathable fabric, making silk comforters comfortable in a wide temperature range. Thin silk comforters are used even in the summer.
[edit] Silk comforters today
Even in modern times, when a variety of artificial fibers are readily available, silk comforters are still practical and considered a kind of status symbol in Chinese communities. They are easy to care for: since silk is an organic protein, they only need to be dried under the sun twice a year to maintain their freshness (silk layers are damaged by contact with water).
In the U.S., silk comforters are mainly imported from China or Taiwan and are priced roughly the same as down comforters. Unlike other natural fibers used in comforters, silk is naturally hypoallergenic, and also does not require any chemicals during the manufacturing process. A silk comforter is a comparable alternative for people who are allergic to goose down comforters.
[edit] External links
- Detailed information about silk comforters, including videos: http://www.silkcomforter.info
