How SILK Is Made From MILLIONS of SILKWORMS Amazing Cocoon Harvesting Process

silk is one of the most luxurious and softest Fabrics in the world to obtain one kilogram of silk around 2500 silkworms are needed but how is silk made from these silkworms get ready to discover the astonishing process of silk creation join us on fascinating Journey as we unravel the secrets of silkworm breeding and the delicate extraction of the valuable cocoons Legend has it that Silk was discovered when cocoon fell into the tea of the Empress of China revealing long and silky threat today over two-thirds of the 410 000 tons of silk produced in the world come from China however silk enthusiasts travel to Thailand to obtain the finest threads these villagers continue their ancestors Traditions hand-weaving high quality silk Thai Silk is considered one of the best in the world and creating the best fabric starts with the best insects silkworms the process in silk factories begins with the breeding of silkworms this step is essential to ensure the availability of silkworms and their proper development healthy and fertile adult females are chosen for reproduction females are placed in boxes or suitable environments where they lay their eggs the adult females deposit their eggs on suitable substrate such as paper or mulberry leaves which are the main food source for silkworms ensuring optimal environmental conditions is crucial for the incubation of the eggs the eggs are kept under controlled temperature and humidity to facilitate their development they start as small as the head of pin and once hatched they begin to grow the newly hatched silkworms known as larvae are very small and start feeding on mulberry leaves for their growth the silkworm larvae are placed in boxes or trays where they are provided with fresh mulberry leaves during this stage silkworms feed voraciously as their main objective is to grow and increase in size maintaining appropriate conditions of temperature humidity and ventilation is essential to ensure the well-being and Healthy Growth of the silkworms rearing silkworms is delicate task that requires constant care and attention to ensure their healthy development the Personnel at the silk Factory supervise and control the breeding process ensuring that the silkworms receive proper nutrition and conditions for their growth to become silk producing larvae these insects will have to multiply their weight by 10 000 Times They Are meticulous and strictly vegetarian only accepting fresh mulberry leaves collected by hand at this Farm they collect more than two tons of leaves per week the leaves are cut into small pieces and placed in boxes or trays to make it easy for the silkworms to access them quantity and quality of the mulberry leaves provided to the silkworms are carefully monitored it is crucial to ensure they always have enough food and to replace dry or damaged leaves to guarantee optimal nutrition regular cleaning of the boxes or trays is done to remove feces and dry leaves maintaining clean environment and reducing the risk of diseases or infections among the silkworms after the silkworms have grown and been adequately fed they start forming their silk cocoons this step is critical in the silk production process after 40 days and 40 nights of continuous eating the larvae are ready to rest but before their Slumber Begins the silkworms start the task of weaving cocoon that will protect them while they transform into butterflies the silkworms start producing special liquid substance through the silk glands located in their heads this substance quickly solidifies upon contact with air forming continuous thread that wraps around the body of the silkworm the silkworms constantly move and weave while secreting the silk threads these movements help shape the Cocoon and ensure the even distribution of the threads around the silkworm's body as the silkworms continue secreting and wrapping the silk threads the Cocoon gradually takes shape the cocoons consist of single continuous silk thread that can reach several hundred meters in length each caterpillar can produce almost kilometer of silk to cover themselves after three or four days of spinning the Cocoon is ready during this time the silkworms remain inside the Cocoon protected and safe the formation of the cocoons is critical stage in the silk production process since the cocoons contain the precious silk threads that will be used in the manufacturing of luxurious and elegant Fabrics once the silkworms complete the formation of their cocoons it's time to harvest them carefully the harvesting of the cocoons is delicate process that ensures the obtaining of the valuable silk threads the workers at the silk Factory carefully examine the cocoons and select those that are in optimal conditions for harvesting the cocoons are separated one by one being careful not to damage the silk threads that surround them the collected cocoons are identified based on their quality and size generally the larger and more uniform cocoons produce better quality and longer silk threads the collected cocoons undergo thermal treatment they are placed in hot water or steamed for specific period which kills the worms inside the cocoons and facilitates the extraction of the silk threads then process of unwinding and extracting the threads is carried out several threads from different cocoons are joined together to form stronger and continuous thread making it easier for further processing and weaving the silk fibers are held together by protein called saracen to remove the saracen the cocoons are immersed in hot water softening the saracen and releasing the filaments the thickness of silk filament is only few hundredths of millimeter so several are needed to form thread strong enough for use it takes five thousand cocoons and 30 hours for the workers to reel just one skein of silk the workers at the silk Factory perform this task with care and precision to ensure the acquisition of high quality silk threads the collected silk threads undergo cleaning process to remove impurities remnants of cocoons and any other unwanted substances the threads are carefully washed in warm water or immersed in gentle cleaning solutions to preserve the Silk's quality and Shine the problem with wet silk is that it is very fragile and you don't want to break thread that you spend an entire day obtaining very ingenious solution is to sprinkle it with with rice which immediately absorbs the moisture the silk thread is wound around spindle very ancient instrument that measures the length of the thread if color is desired the dyeing process is carried out the silk threads are immersed in natural or chemical dyes to achieve the desired colors dyeing is done with caution to ensure uniform distribution of the color on the threads the silk threads are wound onto bobbins or reels to facilitate their handling during the spinning process spinning can be done manually or using specialized Machinery the threads are twisted and combined to form stronger and continuous Yarns that will be used in the manufacturing of silk Fabrics this can be done manually or mechanically depending on the scale of production the silk threads are carefully interwoven to create soft light and elegant fabric with great variety of patterns and textures the tool that transforms them into clothing is the loom to handle this Fierce machine great skill concentration and endurance are required after 40 hours of weaving through threading and warping only half of the cloth is completed in the factories the process is similar to the traditional one but on much more impressive scale instead of the two or three kilograms made by hand in the village automated spinning wheels spend an immense amount of 100 kilograms of silk per day giant mechanical looms weave rolls of three meter Fabric in just few minutes matching the production of the village in few hours creating wide variety of fabrics from curtains to the most modern ties once the silk has been processed and turned into soft and beautiful fabric it's time for commercialization and distribution if you enjoyed this video like and share it with your friends who might be interested if you want to know how butter is made click on the video on your screen also subscribe to this channel by activating the notifications to continue learning thank you for watching