Silk Factory

Like most group tours, we stopped in several specialty factories. However, the great thing about this shops was that they actually explained how they created their amazing wares rather than just having the gift shop alone.

I have never seen how silk is made and it is a fascinating process. A silk pod can contain one or more worms. If there is one worm, there is ONE continuous thread of silk. If you place it in some water, it makes it easier to unwind. These machines take many of the threads and unwind them to form spools that are then woven together.

If there are more multiple worms in the pod, it is impossible to separate out the individual strands. Instead, it is soaked and stretched like this to form batting for comforters. Here I am helping to spread it out (we were not where near as good as the workers- they had to correct our job after finishing it).

So many beautiful sheets, dresses, shirts, ties- but I managed to resist the temptation and escaped without spending any money.