Silk Fabrics Guide: All About Silk Fabric

For more than 2,000 years, silk has been a revered fabric because of its sumptuous and shimmering texture. Seventy percent of this magical fabric is still produced in China, where it was first created so long ago. Here we check out this luxurious natural fabric and recommend which products are the top choices for making in silk.

What are Silk Fabrics?

This strong natural protein fibre comprises mostly Fibroin, an insoluble protein produced by several insects including what we commonly call ‘silkworms’, that mainly feed on mulberry leaves. The worms surround themselves with a protective cocoon created from Fibroin, which is harvested and used to make mulberry silk fabric. 

The Chinese Silk Myth

The Chinese kept silk fabric a secret for more than 2,000 years. It was originally invented in the Chinese Neolithic era, which started in 10,000 BC and lasted 8,000 years. Later, the silk trading route was called ‘The Silk Road’.

Of course, the Chinese have a romantic legend attached to producing silk: they believe that weaving silk fabric was invented by the wife of the Yellow Emperor, Lady Hsi-Ling-Shih, who also invented the loom to weave silk. She is known as ‘The Goddess of Silk’.

By the 11^th Century, many countries in Europe were also producing silk, including Italy. And in the Middle Ages, silk producers also popped up in Spain and France. Silk fabric was introduced to the UK and America around the 17^th Century.

Today, the Chinese still produces about 78% of the silk fabrics available globally – that’s about £350 million, so it remains the world’s largest silk importer. The Chinese mainly export to Hong Kong, Italy, Pakistan and South Korea. Other countries that produce smaller amounts of silk fabric include Brazil, India, Iran, Japan, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

How Silks Are Produced

1. We call the process of making a silk product Sericulture. It involves cultivating silkworks throughout their life process, from the egg stage until the creation of the cocoon.
2. A female silk moth lays between 300 to 500 eggs every month. These eggs hatch into larvae (worms).
3. The worms feed on mulberry leaves. They then produce cocoons by secreting long Fibroin fibres, the protein mentioned above. Within 2 to 3 days, the silk becomes a solid cocoon.
4. Silk is the name of this long fibre, a single strand that can reach about 2,000 to 3.000 feet (600 to 900m) in length. These single strands are too thin to use, so several strands are first boiled and then twisted together to make a strong material.
5. These threads are later woven together to form silk material.
   

Silk is Natural – But it's Not Vegan

To produce 5.5kg of raw silk fabric, one needs around 35,000 silkworm cocoons – and that means 30kg of silkworm eggs. And for that amount of eggs, one needs about 1 ton of mulberry leaves. That’s a lot of leaves, a fortune of silkworm eggs and very little silk fabric.

Silk fabric is not considered to be ethically produced. And as the fabric comes from worms, it isn’t vegan. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is one of the institutions that campaign against silk. PETA believes the fabric is mass-produced and labels it the worst for the environment next to leather. 

As a result, manufacturers use other synthetic fabric, such as nylon, polyester and rayon, despite this fabric selection not being natural. To create those synthetic fabrics requires lots of energy, so these fabrics aren’t biodegradable or easy to recycle.

To combat the problem of producing silk, many producers also find artificial and more traditional methods to make this fabric. 

Stella McCartney Creates Sustainable Silks

The head of this renowned UK fashion design brand invests in research and development to reduce its carbon footprint. One of the brand's fabric innovations is a vegan alternative to silk fabric created in tandem with a company called Bolt Threads. This fabric is created from bio-based and vegan polypeptides. The vegan silk sets McCartney apart from other fashion labels and represents a new era for silk fabric. 

maake’s Silks

We have two beautiful silk fabric alternatives for you to order. They are:

1. Eco Silk Twill: This lightweight twill 100% Recycled Polyester fabric feels just like the magnificent twill fabric used by French couture house Hermes for sewing scarves using their iconic patterns and designs. It’s great for creating accessories like pocket scarves, neck scarves, tops and dresses. The crisp, fluid texture drapes beautifully and prints vibrantly. Recycled Polyester is more sustainable than regular polyester as it’s created from recycled bottles.

Read more about sustainable fabric here. Then check out our guide to Recycled Polyester.

2. Faux Silk Satin: This gorgeous, lightweight fabric is a great alternative to natural silk fabric. It’s popular for accessories like scarves and other luxury clothing. The fabric is created from polyester; it is crease-resistant and has an excellent drape and subtle sheen. It’s slightly sheer, so you may need to add a lining if you’re using it for patterns for sewing clothes.

How We Print on Polyester

The sustainable process we print on polyester fabric requires no water and uses renewable energy. We would like to add that all the ink we use to print on fabric meet Oeko-Tex requirements and pass EN71-3 certification. View our comprehensive guide to fabric certifications.

Varieties of Silks 

The silk we’ve described above is known as mulberry silk. Most of the silk produced globally is this silk type of fabric, which is famous for being strong, soft and hard-wearing.

There are also other fabrics. These include:

• Coan silk: Produced by a particular species of silkworm called ‘Pacypasa atus’, which is found in Greece, Italy and Turkey and feeds on the leaves of juniper, oak and pine trees. Often used to strengthen other silk fibres.
• Eri silk: Created using Eri silkworms that are found on castor trees. The silk fabric, sometimes called ‘castor silk’, is very hard-wearing – even more so than mulberry silk, but it’s heavier.
• Muga silk: Only produced in India using partly domesticated Muga silkworms. Not well-known globally, it’s been used for generations to produce silk garments for nobility.
• Sea silk: A particular type of mussel found in the Mediterranean Sea produces small amounts of fibre similar to silk. People who live in Taranto in Italy use these mussels to manufacture tiny bits of fabric they call ‘Mussel Silk’.
• Spider silk: This silk produced from various spider species is more expensive, as it’s not as easy to produce (spiders can’t be bred like silkworms). Spider silk is thus expensive, but it’s an extremely hard-wearing fabric used to produce serviceable items, like bullet-proof vests, microscopes and telescopes.
• Tasar silk: Produced from Tasar silkworms in India and Japan, it’s the second most common type of silk. It’s copper in colour, mainly used to produce furniture fabric. It is only available in its natural colour, and is difficult to dye into other shades.

Other Silk Fabrics

You may have heard about different kinds of silk fabric, so let’s unpack what these fabrics are:

Damask Silk

Damask silk is a fabric made using various synthetic fibres including linen and synthetics like rayon. You can also purchase damask made from silk fabrics. This type of fabric usually has two colours.

Jacquard Silk

The fine, relatively rare fabric called Jacquard Silk is produced from silk fabrics or silk blends and involves elaborate weaving techniques. Any fabric made using silks or blends of silk is considered jacquard.

Linen Silk

A wonderful combination of luxury silk fabrics and textured linen, linen silk is a unique fabric blend that is very cool to wear. It’s used for summer frocks, blouses as well as tailored jackets.

Silk Cotton

Silk cotton fabric combines cotton and silk to create a more affordable alternative to genuine silk. It comprises more cotton than silk yarn and is light and comfortable, perfect for year-round wear.

Taffeta Silk

This smooth plain woven fabric is still produced from silk as it was in years gone by. But these days, shiny taffeta silk fabric is often produced using synthetic fibres like polyester and rayon. You can still find genuine silk taffeta on sale – it’s known to be quite stiff and keep its shape. Silk taffeta fabric is dyed by the piece, for linings, or by the yarn for evening gowns.

Products Made From Genuine Silk Fabrics

Natural silk is used to produce the following products:

• Luxury fashion items like scarves, lingerie, daywear, and evening wear.
• Sportswear: Silk fabric is blended with cotton to create a strong, durable, stain-resistant fabric for sports gear.
• Home furnishings and accessories: Silk sewing patterns create exquisite throws, pillows and curtains.
• Silk is also used for medical purposes, specifically to manufacture prosthetic arteries and to cover burns and wounds.
• Silk fabric is often combined with other fabric to produce bicycle tyres and parachutes.

Properties That Set Silks Apart

• Silk fabric is one of the strongest natural fabrics in the world. It’s finer and stronger than Kevlar, which is used for bullet-proof clothes. As a result, it’s known worldwide as ‘soft armour’.
• Silk is extremely absorbent and flexible fabric, which makes it ideal for a selection of garments.
• The fabric is breathable and can naturally regulate temperature. So it can be worn in summer to keep the wearer cool, and in winter to keep you warm.
• Silk is also hypoallergenic and antimicrobial fabric, which means it deters bacteria, mould and dust mites. So it’s excellent for those with skin allergies and sensitive skin.
• Despite being a thin fabric, silk is very hard-wearing.
• To avoid damaging the fabric, it’s advisable not to expose silk to sunlight and to be careful when the fabric is wet.
• Silk fabric should be dry-cleaned, as it tends to shrink when washed.

The Difference Between Silks & Satins

It’s important to differentiate between silk and satin fabrics, as many people confuse the two. We’ve discussed silk fabrics in great detail. These natural fabrics are shiny on both sides and have a luxurious texture. Satin, on the other hand, can be a blend of silk and other fabrics, including cotton, nylon, rayon, polyester and viscose. The difference is that satin is only shiny on one side. The back of satin fabric is dull.

The Price of Luxury

Currently, in 2025, the cost of Chinese silk fabric is approximately £26 to £43 per kilogram. Yes, this luxury fabric is expensive. But before you refuse to add it to your shopping cart, consider that it’s not easy to produce and that other factors like shipping costs also escalate its price.