Silk has been used to make luxurious fabric for centuries. It is a natural fiber that is made from the cocoons of silkworm moths and has been cultivated for that purpose in the Far East as long ago as 5000 centuries. Today, silkworm moths live only in captivity and cannot survive in a natural habitat because their diet is now provided in an artificial manner rather than from their original diet of mulberries. There are still distant relatives of the silkworm moth in the wild but they are not the type that can provide the kind of fibers from their cocoons that are required for the production of silk.

Your silk nightgown is made from the strands of fiber that are removed from the moth’s cocoon when boiled in water. A cocoon is made of a single strand of silk that can be hundreds of yards long. These strands are wound together to make threads that will eventually be woven into the fabric that makes that silk nightgown. It can take thousands of cocoons to produce enough silk strands to make up a pound of silk fabric.

While your cotton nightgown is also made from a natural fiber, its makeup is quite different. Cotton is a fiber that comes from a shrub-like plant that is grown as a crop in climates that have a long, sunny growing season. Cotton was likely cultivated first in Egypt several thousand years ago, so may even have been used for fabrics longer than silk has. Cotton is harvested and then processed to remove the seeds and is then woven to make threads.

Synthetic (man-made) fabrics began to be developed in the early part of the twentieth century. Rayon, for example came to be around 1910 and nylon appeared on the scene around 1939. It was used by the military for fabric to make parachutes. Acetate was created around 1924 and makes all kinds of things from fabric to cigarette filters. Polyester (whose real name, believe it or not, is polyethelyneterephthalate) was created around 1953 and was found to be useful in making not only fabric but also tires! Acrylic comes from the petrochemical industry and was created somewhere around 1950. It was originally used for such things as fabric sails for sailboats but it also has some uses in the building industry (as a component of concrete).

Of course, your silk nightgown and your cotton t-shirts are far more comfortable than any polyester or acrylic garment you could ever find, no matter its’ exorbitant price. Popular opinion is that natural fibers simply are able to “breathe” better than any kind of synthetic fabric and for that reason are more comfy for the wearer.

The popularity of clothing and luxurious fabric items that are made from natural fibers such as silk and cotton have never been stronger, even after the advent of all those synthetics that make some items less expensive. Silk and cotton are simply proven performers in the world of textiles and show no sign of diminishing popularity.

Next time you put on that luxurious silk nightgown, take a moment to think about the amazing world of natural fibers and especially that fascinating little silkworm moth!