From silkworm to kimono

Pamper a worm and what happens? It depends on the type of mask. If it is a silkworm, first-rate treatment is needed from the day it is born. But the results are well worth the effort.

The silkworm is the intermediate stage or larva in the development of a butterfly called Bombyx mori. Its life begins when a mature butterfly lays 300 to 500 eggs. However, they only develop when the temperature is right.

In Japan, silk producers store their eggs in cold rooms until the day after May. Then the incubation is changed. Over the next five months, the eggs are put three or four times in a room with a temperature of around 18 degrees Celsius. After that, the temperature gradually increases every day until it reaches 25 degrees Celsius. At this point, the silkworm appears.

Banquet weeks

Workers now transport newborn silkworms to a special dining room. A row of trays, each containing a large number of silkworms, are stacked on top of each other on shelves about two meters (0.6 meters) apart. A companion puts a layer of clean gauze or reed netting on the tray and sprinkles the mulberry leaves twice a day. When the silkworms notice it, they bend down, pull on the deck, and begin to eat greedily.

This festival lasts about twenty days. And what a transformation is taking place! Babies are only 2.1 millimeters tall at birth. But after weeks of partying, they reach a length of 89 millimeters after consuming more than twenty times their own weight. The body of an adult silkworm can be almost 10 inches thick and is filled with liquid silk.

After cleaning, the silkworms lift the front of the body into the air and begin to sway back and forth. When they do, the workers realize that it is time for the worms to weave their silk cocoons.

silk palace

For this activity, the carpenters built special frames with cabins 63mm long and 51mm high that were open at both ends. A silkworm enters each of these compartments.

This unique caterpillar sits in its cubic hole and begins to spin a silk palace. “To do this,” says The World Book Encyclopedia, “he moves his head in a series of eight-digit movements from side to side. Two glands near the jawbone of the silkworm release a liquid that hardens into it. son. Silk. " When it reaches the air, it simultaneously releases a gum called sericin. The sericin properly bonds the two silk threads. “It takes about three days to use up all the liquid silk. A silk thread approximately 1,300 meters long.

In the finished cocoon, the larva turns into a chrysalis. This launches the third phase or base of Bombyx mori. If left alone, the chrysalis transforms into a moth and is pushed out of the cocoon, breaking the silk thread in hundreds of places. To prevent this, the cocoons will pass through the warm air ducts and kill the butterflies developing inside.

Open the page

The workers then collect the cocoons for cooking. This process softens the gum serum and facilitates the capture of the tip of the lateral dental floss. Each thread is as thin as a spider's web and cannot be used alone. Accordingly, depending on the desired thickness, strands of four to twenty cocoons are wound into a single strand.

Then the silk is pulled from the rolls and twisted into small coiled bundles called "strands". You are now ready to "start". To explain this term, The World Book Encyclopedia says, “The term comes from the Anglo-Saxon word thraw (knot). Tone adds twist or adds strings and twists them together. The number of threads that will be connected. It depends on the fabric to be woven. “After the fusion, the threads are wound on rollers, cones or tubes used for weaving. It is important to do this carefully. Soft, knotted thread makes the weaver happy.

Weaving and dyeing

The first tissue phase is called "deformation". This is the preparation of the thread that will run longitudinally through the fabric. Twisting is a challenging operation, as each cable must be equidistant from the cables on each side. Otherwise, the warp threads melt and cross, "resulting in uneven weaving."

The weaver works the transverse yarn alternately over and under the warp yarns. In the loom, the warp threads are divided into two sets so that a crossed thread passes over a set when the chain is pulled in one direction and under the same set when it is moved through it in the opposite direction. This woven silk is hard and opaque. After carefully controlled removal, however, it looks smooth and pearly white.

Now it's time to add some color. An alternative is to paint by hand. For this process, a plain white cloth is sewn temporarily on a kimono in Japan, then an experienced hand is drawn with a brush dipped in the blue juice of the flower. The starch is then drawn from a paper funnel and applied to the edges of the design. Within these limits, colors are painted and fixed. A rice paste, rice bran, salt and bleach are then spread over the pattern to prevent the dye used for the background color from being absorbed.

Another method is template staining. This procedure requires a template for each color in the design. After placing the stencils on the silk, the colors are printed by hand.

Regardless of the method used, the kimonos must be steamed for more than half an hour to ensure color fixation. Excess dye is removed by rinsing under running water. A sticker meets the woman's eye for beauty and adds gold and / or silver threads to the pattern that has already been processed. One last steam press complements the magnificent kimono.

Japanese girls love pastel wallpaper with bright patterns. For special occasions, single girls wear sparkling kimonos with long hanging sleeves. Those who marry married women are a little more sober; and older women, especially in rural areas, prefer plain gray or brown kimonos. Did you know that the Japanese also wear kimonos? They usually choose solid and dark colors.

For thousands of years, pearl luster and natural folds of silk have seduced people. Silk is also comfortable to wear because it is a protein and allows the body to breathe. It does not ring easily.